Hope Among Monsters
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: What if the story of the six children who fell before Frisk went differently. What if they were cared for by the monsters instead? Done as a request for dream1990. :)
1. Decree

**dream1990 asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)**

 **Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. I only own Rose, Justin, Lana, Caleb, Ingrid, and Hope.**

 **A/N: Just to forewarn y'all, this story will have some sad scenes along with happy scenes too. Also, I know there are other ideas about the six children who fell into the Underground before Frisk, but I came up with my own idea about the six for this story, so please do not leave hateful comments about this story. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, but any hateful comments will be removed and reported to the site. Everyone has a different opinion about things, especially when some things are left for people to interpret in their own way and I ask that you please respect my opinion. You don't have to agree with it, but please respect it. Thank you.**

 **Alright, now on with the story! This story takes place right after Chara's and Asriel's deaths.**

* * *

 **Hope Among Monsters**

 **Chapter 1: Decree**

Deep sadness filled the Underground as the rabbit monsters and the Royal Guard dogs carried two caskets to the graveyard with the rest of the inhabitants bowing their heads in respect and many shedding tears. Asgore and Toriel, the king and queen of the Underground, followed after the procession, wearing all black and Toriel was sobbing into her hands and Asgore's head was bowed as he held his crown in his hands.

Arriving at the spot where the caskets were to be buried, the rabbit monsters very carefully lowered the wooden casket that housed the body of Chara into the hole. "Rest in peace, our princess," said one of them softly and the others echoed the statement.

The Royal Guard dogs gently lowered the casket that held the body of Asriel into the hole beside the one Chara had been placed in. "Rest in peace, our prince," Greater Dog said in a low voice and his companions softly echoed the statement with low murmurs.

Gaster, the royal scientist, took a deep breath. "Two lives full of life," he began. "Laid to rest far too soon. May we never forget the prince and princess of the Underground."

Every monster fell silent in honor of the two children before Asgore nodded to the Royal Guard and the rabbit monsters, who carefully buried the two caskets and crystal headstones that they had carved themselves were placed at the head of the graves to mark them. Wreaths of golden flowers were placed over the grave markers as a final touch before Asgore stood in front of the graves. "My son and daughter, you will both be missed greatly," he said, his deep voice filled with grief. "Rest in peace, my children."

Toriel broke down and fell to her knees, her sobs now become wailing at the loss of her children. Sans came up to her and wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Tori," he said softly.

Her crying quieted a little and she gave the joke-loving skeleton a grateful look before standing up and allowing her husband to take her arm and they led the monsters back to the castle, where a dinner was being held and they all gathered around, eating and talking quietly, recalling fond memories with Chara and Asriel.

Undyne walked up to the king and queen, bowing respectfully to them before standing. "Humans haven't changed since the day they banished us here," she said, trying to keep her voice level, but an undertone of anger was in her voice. "Merciless and murderers."

"It does seem that humans aren't willing to accept us," Toriel said sadly.

The fish woman stood straighter. "We can get free with the seven souls of seven humans," she said. "I will personally bring any human that falls down here to you, Your Highness."

"No," Asgore said gently.

Although he spoke it softly, the whole room went quiet and Undyne gave him an unbelieving look, but stayed silent as Asgore stood up to address them all. "We will not become like the murderers who killed my children. If we kill humans, then we are no better than the close-minded humans who imprisoned us and killed Chara and Asriel."

Toriel stood up. "I agree with my husband," she said, also speaking softly. "We should choose the higher road."

She then turned to Asgore. "But Undyne does bring up a point. It is possible more humans will fall down here," she said.

The king nodded and turned to face them, raising his hands. "My subjects, hear my words. Any human that falls into the Underground will be taken care of as if they were born to us," he decreed.

Silence filled the room as no one was sure whether to voice their agreements or disagreements, but Gaster stepped closer to the two rulers. "Your Majesties, forgive me, but do you believe that is wise?" He asked respectfully, bowing to them.

"I understand where you are coming from, old friend," Asgore said gently. "But I would rather have myself, my queen, and my subjects be merciful and find another way to the surface than be branded murderers."

Every monster in the Underground agreed with their king, even Undyne, who was reluctant to agree, but she too didn't want to be seen as a murderer.

They soon dispersed through the Underground that had taken them a year to make into a suitable home, but they were still banding together to create suitable lifestyles for themselves and to create more homes in the mountain for everyone. Some even began remodeling their homes, preparing for if and when more humans fell.

It was another year, exactly one year to the date that Asriel and Chara were buried, that the monsters had succeeded in making the Underground very suitable to live in, using what resources they had to generate power, food, and other necessities. Toriel and Asgore stood in one of the towers of their castle and watched as some of their subjects worked hard to create gardens. A large dump between Hotland and Waterfall was a big help as they found many materials they could salvage and use for building and other things.

The king and queen watched gratefully as Sans and Papyrus carefully planted flowers that their older brother, Gaster, had managed to grow in his lab on the graves of Chara and Asriel, carefully washing away any dust from the crystal grave markers. Toriel sniffled a little. "I can almost see our children running through the grass out here," she said softly.

Asgore nodded. "Perhaps…if more humans fall, they will be as understanding as Chara was. She was the first to be open-minded towards us," he said.

"Yes, and hopefully, there are more like her," the queen said with a nod.

That small glimmer of hope their adopted daughter had given them had a place in their hearts and they were going to hold tight to it, no matter the trouble that faced them in the coming times.

* * *

 **Oh, my word, I had a hard time writing this chapter. Funerals always make me cry. :'(**

 **Will there be more open-minded children like Chara? Or will the monsters be forever trapped in the Underground? Stay tuned!**

 **And please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGaurdian2418**


	2. The First One

**Chapter 2: The First One**

 _Underground, thirty years later…_

One would have to have seen the Underground to believe that it was now a habitable place for the monsters there, each one building homes for themselves and managing to find work to make a living at. It took a lot of hard work, but it paid off.

And so far, no humans had fallen into the mountain, something that was a relief for the monsters, but also a bit saddening as they were hoping to show some humans that things were much different, that they wanted to live peacefully.

Papyrus was just outside the Ruins one day as he was thinking about how it would be if a human did fall. After Asgore had declared that if any child fell, they would be taken in and adopted, the tall skeleton began hoping that a child would fall, because he could teach them puzzles like a big brother would for a younger sibling.

In the middle of his daydream, he heard a loud 'THUMP' before a loud 'CLANK' was heard too. He quickly moved and stopped in shock, blinking to be sure he wasn't dreaming as he got closer, filled with hope that a child had just fallen and he could help her. He got closer and she opened her eyes, sitting up before clutching an oxygen tank. Finding this odd, Papyrus decided to see what was going on and stopped short when he saw a clear tube go from the oxygen tank to the girl's nose. He knew a little about it from one of Alphys' lectures long ago, but when he saw her face, she couldn't have been more than eight years old.

The girl stood up and lifted her head, spotting him and she gasped, running away from him. The tall skeleton instantly went after her, calling Alphys on his cell phone. "Alphys, a human fell!" He exclaimed in to the phone.

"What?" She asked, startled and checked her surveillance. Sure enough, she saw Papyrus chasing the young girl. "She's on oxygen, I think," she heard the skeleton say.

That spurred the scientist into action. "Papyrus, catch that human. If she's on oxygen, then she won't survive running," she said urgently. "Bring her to my lab when you get her."

Agreeing, Papyrus quickly called his two brothers and told them the situation and they wasted no time joining in the chase, running after the frightened child, who didn't stop running when she saw the three of them on her tail.

Suddenly, she collapsed, too tired to keep going and trying to pull more oxygen into her lungs. Hearing the skeletons get closer, she grew frightened and clutched the almost-empty oxygen tank to herself while a tall skeleton dressed mostly in black came closer and picked her up quickly. She went limp in his arms. "Sans, she needs Alphys' help now," Gaster said.

"Gather close," the shorter skeleton said.

It took only a moment to teleport them to Alphys' lab and she quickly motioned them over to a hospital bed nearby. After the young girl was laid on the bed, Alphys disconnected the oxygen tube from the drained tank and connected it to the oxygen system she had running for her. "There," she said, quickly checking the machines and letting out a sigh of relief. "She's going to be alright."

The young girl trembled as she lay there, afraid of them. Papyrus, seeing this, came over and gently took one of her small hands into his, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, which seemed to help her a bit before she gasped as Sans' left eye lit up and he concentrated on something. "Her stats are low," he said. "But…there's a reason she's on the oxygen."

"Why, Sans?" Papyrus asked.

The short skeleton came closer, giving the girl a sympathetic look. "She's got lung cancer," he said.

Toriel and Asgore, who had just arrived, stopped short when they heard that. "Lung cancer?" Toriel asked in shock.

Sans nodded and the monsters all looked at the girl sympathetically, feeling sad for her. "Little one, what is your name?" Gaster asked her.

She was quiet for a bit, but then took a deep breath. "I'm Rose," she said. "I'm eight years old."

Asgore came forward, kneeling down beside the bed. "What were you doing up on Mount Ebbot, little one?" He asked.

Rose sat up a little and Alphys placed a couple extra pillows behind her to help her sit upright. "Thank you," Rose said to the dinosaur scientist before she looked at them all. "My parents…they said it was best for my lungs…if I went up to Mount Ebbot."

Undyne suddenly entered the lab. "Hey, I found something," she said, holding up what looked like a backpack. She then spotted Rose and stopped short. "A kid?"

"Yes, she just fell down here about an hour ago," Gaster said.

Alphys took the bag from Undyne and went over to Rose. "Is this your backpack, Rose?" She asked

The little girl nodded and the dinosaur opened the bag to check the contents. Her face fell and she looked up at the others. "Alphys, what's in there?" Sans asked.

"Two changes of clothes, another oxygen tank, and some food, probably enough to last a few days."

At Alphys' answer, the monsters looked worried. "Rose, are you sure you weren't going on a camping trip, sweetie?" Toriel asked gently.

Rose shook her head. "No, just for a day of hiking," she answered.

Alphys suddenly saw a piece of paper and pulled it out, opening it and her heart sank more. "Guys…her parents…they left her to die," she said softly.

Gaster came over and gently took the paper from the scientist, his own eyes widening in shock. "She's right," he said, handing the paper to Asgore, who was equally shocked.

Hearing that, Rose turned her head to the side, tears falling down her face. "I…I thought that was…the reason," she managed to say through her tears before she broke down, crying harder.

Her motherly instincts guiding her, Toriel went up to Rose and picked her up, holding her in a comforting embrace as the young girl clung to her, still crying a bit. The Queen of the Underground looked up at her husband, who nodded and came closer, gently rubbing one of Rose's arms with a large hand and waiting until she calmed down a bit more. "Rose, we won't let you die, little one," he said soothingly. "Toriel and I will take care of you."

The eight-year-old lifted up her head at that, looking stunned. "You mean…you'll adopt me? By my mom and dad?" She asked.

"Yes, little one," said Toriel.

Rose sat up a bit more. "Do you really mean it?" She asked, showing them that she wasn't completely convinced.

Sans came up to them and reached forward, gently tickling Rose's sides, which made her giggle a bit. "They mean it, kiddo," he said gently. "The King and Queen don't lie."

Believing him, she hugged Toriel again. "Thank you," she said softly.

The two goat monsters held her comfortingly, vowing to be good parents for her and to help her through her cancer as best they could.

* * *

 **And here's the first child to fall to the Underground. Someone asked me if this story would go through the seven children counting Frisk and the answer is yes, it will. Frisk doesn't show up for quite a while though, but she'll be in this one too. ;)**

 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	3. A Fighter

**Chapter 3: A Fighter**

Rose spun around and blocked Undyne's spear with her staff, twisting her staff so that the spear would be knocked out of the fish woman's hands. Surprised, Undyne couldn't counterattack in time and her spear was thrown from her hand. "Nice," she said. "Also, very sneaky."

"You taught me to be sneaky in attacks, Undyne," the eight-year-old girl said cheekily.

"Hey, don't you be smart-mouthing me," the fish woman said without heat. She was secretly proud that Rose had been taking her training seriously and had been coming up with new strategies to best opponents.

The girl suddenly stopped and leaned on her staff, breathing hard and clutching her chest. Undyne quickly went up to her. "Rose, are you okay? Do you need me to turn up your oxygen?" She asked.

Rose nodded. "Just a little," she managed to stay between breaths and the fish woman quickly used the special wrench to open the oxygen tank up more so that the young girl could catch her breath. She then picked her up and sat down on the nearby bench and held the eight-year-old child in her lap, rubbing her back as the young girl took a few deep breaths through her nose and out her mouth as she had been taught. Greater Dog, who had been passing by to go to Grillby's, stopped to give a report to Undyne and to say hello to Rose.

"Undyne, reports are good today," he said. "Things are going smoothly in all the Underground."

"Good," she said. "Any other humans fall?"

He shook his head. "None," he said. "We'll be on the lookout."

He then went up to Rose and nuzzled her hand with his nose. "How are you, Rose? Do you need another oxygen tank?" He asked, seeing the one she had was almost empty.

She glanced down. "Oh, I guess I do," she said. "Undyne, I think I have a spare tank in your home."

The fish woman nodded and let Greater Dog go inside and fetch the new oxygen tank, which they both quickly set up for their young friend, who thanked them. "I'll make sure to get another tank to have on hand for you when I visit your folks later today," Undyne promised. All throughout the Underground, in every building, there were oxygen tanks that everyone kept on hand in case Rose passed their way and needed oxygen. Grillby sadly couldn't, since he was made of fire, but the kind shop owner next door to him kept some extra oxygen tanks on hand so that Grillby didn't feel too bad about it and whenever Toriel and Asgore, or Sans, ate at the fire monster's restaurant, Grillby would always make a to-go bag special for Rose, who enjoyed the food and would call Grillby up every time to tell him it was good.

Undyne now stood up. "Alright, let's give it another half-hour and then call it a day," she said. "Your mom and dad weren't too happy with me last time that you were so sore that you couldn't walk for two days."

Rose smiled and held her staff ready and Undyne swung her spear, but didn't expect the young girl to duck and come up fast, knocking her in the chin with the staff. With a surprised grunt, the fish woman fell back, landing in the snow and laying there for a bit. "Undyne!" Greater Dog exclaimed, rushing over, but she held up a hand.

"I'm fine," she said before smiling at Rose. "Nice counter, Rose."

"Are you okay, Undyne?" She asked. "I just wanted to block your arms, not hit you in the chin."

The fish warrior smiled. "Takes more than a punch to the chin to knock me out," she said, standing up and rubbing her jaw a little. "Still, that was a good maneuver."

Rose smiled. She had been training to become a bit stronger, but she honestly hoped she'd never be in a fight, though she did love mock-training with Undyne and Papyrus. The fish woman and the young girl had become close friends after the whole deal with Rose's parents abandoning her and Undyne deciding that Rose should at least do training mostly to keep her body in shape and to try to help with her lung elasticity, even though she had cancer. Toriel and Asgore had readily agreed and Rose's breathing was getting a bit better, but she still needed the oxygen, which was understandable.

A few moments later, the young girl was at Sans and Papyrus' house and she pounced on the tall skeleton. "I challenge you to a battle against me, Papyrus!" She declared.

He stood up enthusiastically. "I, the Great Papyrus, answer your challenge, young Rose," he said, pulling out a wooden staff like her own and they began mock-fighting, matching attacks swiftly and cleverly, although Rose began giggling at the looks of concentration on the tall skeleton's face. The faces he made just made her laugh to the point that he would occasionally do it on purpose so she would laugh.

Sans, who had been watching, chuckled and then got up, sneaking up behind Rose and gently wrapping his arms around her waist, his fingers playfully poking into her sides. "Eek! Sans! Nohohohohohohohohohoho!" She protested.

"Hey, you challenged me, kid. If you can't take it, don't challenge the master," he said teasingly, knowing she didn't really mind being tickled. "Hey, Pap, hold her arms up, so I can get her stomach."

Papyrus grinned. "Only if you do so later so I can get her underarms," he said.

"Deal."

Rose couldn't do much as Papyrus gently caught and held her arms up in a gentle grip while Sans lifted up her shirt to the bottom of her rib cage, taking a deep breath and blowing a big raspberry into the young girl's stomach. "EEEEEEK! SANS!" She squealed in protest, but he just blew another raspberry into her stomach, making her squeal again.

"Just listen to her giggling, Sans! She really loves you blowing raspberries into her stomach!" Papyrus exclaimed with a laugh.

"No, I don't!" Rose protested before another raspberry from Sans had her squealing again.

"Then why are you squealing so cutely when I do it, huh?" Sans asked teasingly before twirling a finger into her belly button, which produced a surprised shriek that turned into high-pitched giggles. "I'm going to eat that belly button of yours, Rose!" He laughed out before he blew the biggest raspberry right onto her belly button to make her really shriek before he started to very gently nibble at her belly button, which made the room fill up with Rose's cute laughter before Sans stopped and accepted the girl from Papyrus, who wiggled his fingers as the short skeleton held Rose's arms up and in a gentle hold before the tall skeleton began vigorously tickling her underarms.

Besides her belly button, her underarms were her weak spot and she laughed her hardest as Papyrus continued tickling her. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo!" He teased her. "Look how ticklish you are, Rose! I love how ticklish you are!"

The eight-year-old laughed and squirmed until Sans let her go, which allowed her to roll away and jump to her feet and run for safety, but Papyrus was hot on her trail. "I'll catch you, Rose!" He declared with a big smile.

Rose ran into Gaster's lab and hugged his legs, to which he glanced down and then went back to his work, but let her stay. He honestly didn't mind her hanging around his lab and hugging him. She often did the same with Alphys, who also didn't mind the girl hovering around her.

Gaster finally set down some test tubes and looked down at Rose again. "Are you feeling alright, Rose?" He asked, concern in his voice. "Your oxygen is holding up, yes?"

She nodded. "Papyrus is tickling me," she said with a giggle.

"Ah," the tall skeleton nodded. "I see."

Papyrus then came in, but his smile was his normal cheery one. "Rose, your parents are here," he said.

She quickly ran downstairs to hug her mother and father, who were happy to see her and praised her for doing so well in her training. "She's a fighter," Sans said, to which the others nodded and Rose snuggled happily into Asgore's arms as he held her in a fatherly embrace.

But little did they all know, the happiness they knew wouldn't last.

* * *

 **Uh-oh! What could be happening? Stay tuned to find out! :)**

 **And please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	4. Love Surrounding You

**Chapter 4: Love Surrounding You**

Five years had now passed since Rose had fallen in the Underground and she was almost thirteen years old, something that should have made her happy, but she began to sense that she didn't have much time left and one day, she realized that it was her last day. Toriel, who grew concerned when her daughter had asked for all the monsters to come, had instantly called everyone, who came to Sans and Papyrus' house as Asgore carried his daughter in his arms and set her on the couch and she sat up, looking at them all sadly. "Guys, I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Sorry for what, punk?" Undyne asked gently.

Rose looked up at them. "I won't be here in the morning," she said softly. "I can feel it. I don't have much time left."

Understanding filled the gathered monsters, understanding that turned to sadness. Toriel began softly crying, and the others bowed their heads, shedding tears. While monster food and some healing had slowed down Rose's cancer, by the time she had fallen in the Underground, the cancer had unfortunately set in too much for anything else to be done. Alphys went up to Rose. "I'm sorry, Rose," she said softly. "I wish…,"

She trailed off and the young girl hugged her. "You did everything you could, Alphys. All of you did. More than my former parents had," she said. "Thank you all, for taking me in and being a family to me."

Toriel kneeled down and hugged her daughter. "Oh, Rose," she said, her voice sad. "I wish we could've done more, my child."

"It's okay, Mom," Rose said, smiling. "For five years, you and Dad and everyone else have made everything better for me, sticking with me no matter what. I'm very happy, happier than I was before I fell down here. The past five years have been the best years for me. I can't remember a time I was happy before I fell and you all saved my life and took me in."

Her words filled them with comfort, although they were still saddened that she would soon die from her cancer. "Rose, what would you like to do today?" Asgore asked.

She smiled. "I want to spend time with everyone," she said.

To start it off, Toriel and Asgore cooked pancakes for breakfast, which were Rose's favorite and they did a few puzzles together for fun. A couple hours later, Undyne decided to show the young girl some of her favorite moves and Rose watched in amazement, clapping happily and cheering her aunt when the Royal Guard dogs joined in to mock battle with Undyne.

Rose wished to join in, but Undyne had gently said no. "You shouldn't overdo it today, punk," she had said. "Let me treat you instead. You can watch me perform my favorite moves."

Because she had always wanted to see her aunt's more advanced moves, the young girl had consented to just watch. Alphys had even come to watch and brought another oxygen tank for the young girl, who smiled at her and hugged her happily.

Mettaton, who was quite saddened to hear that one of his fans and guest stars only had that day left, had cancelled his shows, apologizing to his fans and explaining the situation, which left the whole Underground saddened and text messages poured in with messages of how they all loved her and she would be missed. The robot star had shed tears when he hugged Rose, saying she had taken a big piece of all their hearts five years ago and they wouldn't forget her. She had tears in her eyes, saying they had taken a big piece of her heart too, something that made them all smile at her.

All too soon, the day became evening and Rose was spending time with Sans, Papyrus, and Gaster, who declared a movie night and picked out the Mettaton movies and shows where Rose had guest starred in them, having been a natural at acting and the robot had been more than happy to make her a costar on his shows and movies.

After a few movies, Rose turned to Sans. "Sans, would you please tickle me?" She asked him.

The joke-loving skeleton smiled at her. "You want tickles, huh?" He asked teasingly and his fingers went for her stomach, making her laugh happily as he tickled her stomach and sides. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo! I've got you, kiddo! Tickle, tickle, tickle!"

While this was going on, Gaster was keeping an eye on Rose's vitals and called Toriel and Asgore to come as he began sensing small changes that he knew would become more frequent and bigger in a bit. Papyrus came out of the kitchen with a pot of macaroni and cheese with hot dogs in it, which was Rose' favorite dinner.

The King and Queen held their daughter as they ate and just hugged her, tears in their eyes. Rose also had a few tears in her eyes, but smiled bravely. "I know none of you will forget me," she said.

"Never," Asgore promised and Toriel nodded in agreement.

It was nine o'clock that evening when Rose looked at them and nodded. Gaster checked her vitals and let out a sad sigh. "It's time," he said softly.

The sad parents hugged their child, unable to hold back their tears and she hugs them hard before hugging Gaster, who hugs her soundly. "You're a very brave child, Rose," he said softly.

"Thank you," she said softly before accepting a hug from Papyrus, who was crying with tears rolling down his face.

"I'll miss you, Rose," he said before gently rubbing her back. "Are you warm enough?"

She nodded, smiling. Sans then accepted her from his brother and hugged her as tears streamed from his eyes. "I wish we could do more for you, kiddo," he said.

"You've done so much, Uncle Sans," she said with a smile. "You, Mom, Dad, Uncle Papyrus, Uncle Gaster, and everyone else did everything right and possible. You all surrounded me with love."

"And we'll always love you, Rose," Toriel promised her as they all nodded. "You'll never be forgotten by us."

Rose smiled at that. "I love you all," she said.

"We love you too, sweetheart," Asgore said and the other four echoed his words, making the young girl smile before she reached for her parents' hands and they held her hands comfortingly as she took her last breath and died peacefully in Sans' arms. Seeing this, the five monsters broke down in tears, hearts aching as they took a moment to mourn before they spread the news of Rose's death to the other inhabitants of the Underground.

A few days later, the funeral was held and everyone came to pay their respects to the young girl who had been a huge part of their lives. The procession then moved to the skeleton brothers' home, where a grave had been dug beside their home as Rose had asked them a few years ago to bury her there when she died. As the Royal Guard Dogs lowered the casket carefully and then filled in the grave, tears fell to the ground from every monster there, who each felt a part of them had died with Rose. Soon, the grave was properly finished and marked and Asgore set up a tombstone that had Rose's name and the dates she lived marked on the top. And underneath that were words that brought some comfort to the grieving monsters.

" _A brave fighter with an equally brave spirit. Gaining family and love, surrounded by both 'til the end."_

Gaster now came forward and placed an orange crystal heart at the top of the tombstone where it set into the stone and sparkled in the light. "She'll always be remembered," the tall skeleton said softly.

The others all nodded in agreement. They would never forget Rose, the first human after Chara to accept them unconditionally and without judgment as both her friends and her family.

* * *

 **I'm not going to lie. I got tears in my eyes writing this chapter, especially the part where Rose says she loves them all. When my dad was dying, his last words to me were that he loved me too after I had told him that same phrase. Even though it's been nearly four years and I've made peace with his death, I still miss my dad and still shed tears sometimes when I think about him.**

 **Make sure you all tell your parents you love them.**

 **Please leave a review, but no flames.**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	5. Justice Inside Me

**Chapter 5: Justice Inside Me**

 _Ten years later…_

It had now been a decade since Rose had died, but she wasn't forgotten by any of the monsters, who kept hoping one day they'd be free and also hoping that more children would fall so that they could show them that they were harmless, like how they had shown Rose.

Sans and Toriel glanced up at the hole in the mountain that led to the Underground. "I keep hoping another human will fall," the skeleton admitted. "A child especially."

The goat queen nodded. "Yes," she said. "I hope so too. Even if the child doesn't free us, we can still show that child that we are not what some adult humans say we are."

"True," Sans said before they headed back into the Underground. He and Toriel walked to the river where the River Person was. "Tell your husband he owes me a rematch in our game of cards."

"Alright," she said with a smile as the River Person kindly took her to the castle while the skeleton headed back for his favorite place to eat: Grillby's.

Somewhere in Snowdin, a small figure moved, trying to keep the snow off his pants and shoes, which was proving to be a challenge as he tried a few doors carefully to see if he could sneak inside and warm up a bit, or maybe find some food. The young boy, who was nine years old, had fallen into the Underground in hopes of escaping the abusive orphanage he had been staying at.

"Ones of these doors must be unlocked," he said to himself and as luck would have it, the door he now tried opened and he quickly went in, shutting the door behind him and looking at his surroundings. His eyes widened when he realized he was in a kitchen, a kitchen that was very warm and had the wonderful aroma of cooking food. Ducking down, he sneaked around and peeked out a door to see tables and chairs. "A restaurant," he said to himself and moved back, quickly finding a good place to hide and watch the cook closely.

Seeing the tall monster made of fire come in, Justin ducked down, peeking out from between some flour sacks and canned vegetables to watch as the cook, who he noticed was dressed in a manner that suggested he was the owner too, prepared some food and left some food out and ready to use to cook in a moment as he got a couple orders ready and carried them out. Seeing his chance to grab a little food, Justin quickly moved to the counter, seeing some cheese cut up into chunks, some sliced peppers, and a sliced cucumber. Quickly snagging a little bit of eat, he quickly got back to his hiding place and quietly ate the food.

Grillby came back into the kitchen and continued making food, giving the piles of cut food a curious glance, thinking he had surely cut a little more than what he saw. Shrugging and thinking perhaps he had imagined it, he simply prepared some more and set to making a large order for the Royal Guard Dogs, carrying it out a moment later.

Justin kept one eye on the door as he snagged a little more food, the warmth from both the food and the kitchen warming him up as he decided to see about spending the night there. Spying a few pallets, he decided that would do for a bed, and if he could drag a flour bag over, he'd have a pillow. A nearby tarp was instantly visualized as a blanket and he nodded to himself.

Being careful not to reveal himself, the boy watched and when he saw Grillby sweeping and mopping, he knew that meant he'd soon be alone in the restaurant and he quickly gathered some extra food and carried it to his makeshift bed, keeping his eyes open as the fire monster finished cleanup and put the food away before locking up. He turned off most of the lights, leaving only a few lights on for security before locking up the doors and going home.

Justin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ate the food he had snatched, feeling better afterwards and using the sink to wash his face and hands before going over to the pallets and laying down on them, liking how the bag of flour made a soft pillow for him and the tarp made a good blanket. Those, and the warm kitchen, helped him to go to sleep.

He woke up when he heard someone enter the next morning and quickly sat up, going over to quietly watch the fire monster start preparing food for the lunch rush, turning on the ovens to warm up the kitchen. As the monster headed out to get the tables ready, the boy quickly sneaked up and grabbed a bit of food for breakfast, eating it right there and was about to grab some more when he heard the door open and he quickly moved to hide, nearly dropping the few chunks of cheese he had in his hands.

Grillby stopped short in surprise seeing someone in his kitchen was more surprised to see it was a human child, a boy who looked to be less than ten years old. "What are you doing here?" He asked him.

Justin gasped and quickly went to flee, quickly eating the cheese he had taken, but before he could escape out the restaurant, the owner caught him and held him as he struggled. "Whoa, now. Slow down," Grillby said.

The nine-year-old boy struggled hard. "Let go!" He pleaded, fear filling his voice.

The fire monster picked him up and went over to one of the barstools and sat down, holding the struggling human child in his arms as he set him in his lap. "Settle down, young one," he now said, his voice becoming a soothing coo. "If you tell me why you were stealing food from my kitchen, you won't be punished."

Justin paused in his struggling when he heard that and looked up at Grillby, who smiled at him. "Also, how long have you been hiding in my kitchen?" The monster asked.

The boy swallowed. "Since y-yesterday," he admitted. "I…I'm sorry. I…I was hungry."

Seeing his earlier hunch on the boy was stealing just to survive was right, the bartender nodded and stood up, picking up the child at the same time. "What is your name, little one?" He asked.

Realizing that this monster was going to keep his word and not hurt him, the child looked up at him. "Justin," he said.

"You fell down here, didn't you?" Grillby asked.

Justin nodded. "I was trying to escape the orphanage."

Hearing that, the fire monster took Justin back into the kitchen and prepared some food for him. "Eat up," he said with a smile, to which the boy instantly dove in, giving him a grateful look for the food.

A few hours later, Toriel and Asgore walked into the restaurant, instantly spotting the two. "Hello, Grillby," Asgore greeted him. "Is this the boy you texted us about?"

Justin was instantly scared of them and quickly hid behind Grillby, who smiled and placed a comforting arm around the boy. "Justin, this is King Asgore and his wife, Queen Toriel," he introduced them. "I told them about you while you were eating."

Toriel stepped forward. "Don't be frightened, my child," she said gently. "You won't be hurt. Grillby told us that you fell down after running from an orphanage."

The boy nodded and Asgore kneeled down. "Justin, would you like to stay with me and Toriel?" He asked. "For us to adopt you?"

The nine-year-old was stunned. "You…You'd do that?" He asked.

Asgore nodded and gently placed a hand on Justin's shoulder, getting a read on him and smiling when he saw the boy's main trait was justice. "My wife and I would gladly adopt you as our son, if you would like," he said.

Stunned, but sensing that the goat monster was speaking the truth, Justin nodded before turning to Grillby, looking a bit sheepish. "Um, Grillby, right?" He asked, remembering Toriel mentioning the fire monster's name.

"Yes," Grillby responded.

The boy looked up at him. "How can I make up for stealing from your restaurant?" He asked, wanting to make it right.

The fiery bartender gently shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Justin," he said. "Far be it from me to deny a starving child food."

"Still, I am sorry," Justin said.

"I forgive you."

Asgore smiled and scooped Justin up in his arms. "Well, son, why don't your mother and I get you to your new home," he said.

"Have you been to a castle before?" Toriel asked.

The boy shook his head and they smiled. "Then you're in for a real treat, son," said Asgore.

Justin leaned his head on his new father's shoulder, clinging to the goat's cape a little while letting Toriel ruffle his hair as they headed to their castle together.

* * *

 **Hey, y'all! I know you all were saddened that Rose had passed away, but rest assured, all the other children will be alive, but that's all I'll say for now. Next up: Justin meets the skeleton brothers. :)**

 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	6. Pun Buddies

**Chapter 6: Pun Buddies**

Justin actually settled quite fast and well as Asgore and Toriel's new son, but he wasn't boastful that he was now royalty. He had never been boastful before, but seeing how humble and modest his new parents were prompted him to act as they did and treat everyone with kindness. He even learned about Rose, Chara, and Asriel.

"I wish I could have met my sisters and brother," he said to Toriel one day. "I've always wanted siblings."

Toriel had smiled. "Asriel wanted siblings too and was thrilled when Chara joined the family," she said. "But when they both passed on, it was hard on all of us. But then Rose came into our lives and lived a happy life, despite only living with us for five years."

"What happened to her?" Justin asked.

"When she first fell down here, she had lung cancer," the Queen explained. "While our monster food and some healing had slowed down her cancer, it was already set in too much for us to fully heal her."

The nine-year-old felt saddened by that. "From what you told me, it sounds like you guys gave her the best life you could," he said.

"We did our best and she did tell us that we had been the best to her before she died."

Justin grew curious. "Mama, where are they buried?" He asked. "I'd like to at least pay my respects to my siblings."

Toriel smiled. "You are a very thoughtful boy, my son," she said. "Asriel and Chara are buried in the garden out back. Your father is getting some special plants right now to plant on their graves and he's bringing another plant for us to take to Rose's grave, which is by Sans and Papyrus' house."

The boy looked curious. "Who are they?" He asked.

"Good friend of ours," she said with a smile. "With your love of jokes, I think you and Sans will get along just fine. He is a master at jokes and puns."

"Like you, Mom?"

Toriel giggled. "Well, I do enjoy them, although your father gets a little frustrated with me sometimes," she said. "Papyrus often gets very annoyed with his older brother's constant puns and jokes."

Justin giggled. "I'd like to meet them," he said.

"You will when we head for Snowdin in a few hours," she said as she heard Asgore return. "Ah, your father is home. Let's go put those flowers on Asriel's and Chara's graves."

They went outside and saw Asgore getting the gardening tools and Justin went to the graves, kneeling down and reading the inscriptions on them, gently touching the headstones as he studied the pictures of his deceased siblings. "Do you think they can see us wherever they are?" He asked his parents.

"I believe they can, son," Asgore said as he carefully dug a small hole for the plant he selected for Asriel's grave and Justin carefully removed the plant from the pot and placed it in the hole, helping his father plant it before helping his mother plant another plant on Chara's grave.

"You picked some good ones, my love," Toriel said.

Asgore smiled. "The colors were their favorites," he said.

The nine-year-old boy smiled. "They are nice," he said and followed his parents inside the house where Toriel pulled out winter clothes.

"We'll need these when the River Person takes us to Snowdin," she said.

The trip to Snowdin was quick thanks to the River Person heading there nonstop and Justin's eyes widened as he saw the snow and went over to it, curiously scooping some up in his hand and looking curious before jumping up and grabbing onto a small, but sturdy branch, shaking off the snow from the limb and watching it hit the ground.

"Hey!" A voice cried out as skeletal hands popped out of the snow and flailed about, startling the boy and making him fall backwards as Toriel and Asgore came over, both trying not to laugh as they watched a familiar skeleton pop out of the snow. "I didn't asked for a _snow shower."_

Toriel scooped up some snow. " _Snow_ time like the present to get one!" She said and dumped the powdery snow on the skeleton, who yelped and jumped up, shaking the snow off himself before grinning at her and teleporting away, making the other three look around before Toriel shrieked in surprise as powdery snow rained down on her from the trees.

"Hey, Tori, there's your _flurry in a hurry,"_ the skeleton said with a laugh.

"Ooh!" She exclaimed in mock anger.

Justin, curious, found some snow that was sticky enough to make a snowball and created one, taking aim at the skeleton who reappeared again beside his mother and threw the snowball. It hit the skeleton's mouth dead center, making him sputter in surprise and making Toriel and Asgore burst into laughter as Justin gulped as the skeleton turned to him. "Um, oops?" He asked sheepishly.

The hoodie-wearing skeleton grinned. "Feeling sheepish, kid?" He asked. "I think your folks have you _bleat_ on that department."

It took Justin a minute to realize the play on words and giggled as he realized because his parents were goats and goats bleated, the skeleton had substituted that word for the word 'beat'. "Maybe," the boy said. "I could try to come up with a good pun, but it's _snow_ use."

When he said that, Toriel and Asgore dumped a little snow down the back of their friend's shirt and he shrieked as he tried to get the snow out, dancing around and making them laugh. "I wonder what kind of dance that is?" Asgore said teasingly.

"A snow dance, Dad," Justin said and giggled, making them laugh as he then ran up and tackled the skeleton playfully, making him yelp before they fell back into a big snow pile.

"Well, there's a couple of _snow angels,"_ Toriel giggled.

The nine-year-old boy stood up, holding out a hand to the monster, who accepted it. "Thanks, kid," he said. "That's pretty… _handy."_

The boy giggled at that. "From those puns, you've got to be Sans," he said.

"Got it in one, kiddo," Sans said, holding out a hand and Justin grinned, gently grabbing Sans' wrist instead, surprising the skeleton.

"Mom told me the whoopee cushion trick," he said.

Sans chuckled. "Tori, you're ruining my reputation," he said with a half-hearted groan.

"What reputation?" Asked a taller skeleton as he came into view. "You've finally stopped being such a lazybones?"

"Nah, bro. I just got a _skele-ton_ of work done."

Papyrus let out the loudest screech he could at that, which only made the royal family laugh. "Alright, Sans, let's take a break," Toriel said with a smile. "I want you two to meet Justin."

The tall skeleton turned with a smile. "Ah, the young boy you both adopted!" He said happily and kneeled down to Justin's height and scooping the boy up into a big hug, something that surprised the nine-year-old, but he hugged the tall skeleton back, liking him instantly.

* * *

One day, Toriel and Asgore had some business to discuss with their advisors and let Justin go visit the skeleton brothers. Just before he got to the door, the boy stopped by Rose's grave and gently brushed the snow off her headstone, smiling before going into the house, seeing the front window had been repaired again. Ever since he and Sans became friends, they became pun buddies, which annoyed Papyrus so much that he had exited the living room window more than once. Gaster would simply shake his head in amusement and sigh before fixing the window every time.

Today, he saw Sans napping on the couch and Papyrus was out, probably training with Undyne, so Justin decided to look for Gaster, who he found in the lab. The oldest of the skeleton brothers smiled when he saw him. "Hello, Justin," he said. "Give me a second to finish this experiment before you come near, alright?"

"Okay," the boy said, knowing that some of Gaster's experiments were dangerous and had to be handled carefully. He waited until the scientist gave him the okay and he went up and hugged him. The tall skeleton returned the hug as he put some notes away and set his worktable right. "Hey, Gaster?" He heard the boy ask.

"Hmm?" He responded, giving Justin his full attention.

"Why does everyone on the surface say monsters are evil and would hurt me if I encountered one?"

Gaster took a moment to think about how to reply before decided to be truthful. "Well, there are evil monsters in the world," he said. "But none of us monsters down here are evil."

The nine-year-old tilted his head curiously. "But…they said you guys were banished down here because you were evil," he said.

The skeleton gently shook his head. "Far from it," he said. "The reason humans banished us to the Underground was because they were afraid of something they didn't understand and worst of all, they were too ignorant to want to understand."

"But…that doesn't seem fair," Justin said. "You guys are awesome. I'm glad I met you all."

"Ah, but you took time to understand what we were and give us a chance to show you that we are civilized," Gaster said, gently ruffling the boy's hair.

Giggling, the young boy looked thoughtful again. "Gaster, is there such a thing as a tickle monsters?" He asked. "I once read a book about a playful monster who liked laughter."

The scientist smiled. "Sans would be the best one to answer that question, kiddo," he said.

Grinning, Justin hugged Gaster again before heading downstairs to see Sans, who was blinking his eyes sleepily, indicating he had just woken up and the yawn he let out further emphasized that. "Hey, Sans," the boy greeted him.

The joke-loving skeleton chuckled. "Hey, kiddo," he said, sitting up to allow Justin to sit by him. "What's up?"

"Gaster told me you could answer my question," the boy said.

"What question is that?" Sans asked.

"Is there such thing as a tickle monster?"

The skeleton beside him grinned at that question. "Yeah, there is," he said. "In fact, I personally know the tickle monster."

"For real?" Justin asked, his eyes lighting up. "Where does he live?"

Sans couldn't stop grinning at the kid's curiosity. "He lives here," he said, playing it up for the boy.

The young boy blinked. "Where?" He asked.

"Why so curious?" The hoodie-wearing skeleton said. "Eager to have your _funny bone_ tickled? Or have the tickle monster _tenderize those ribs_ or _knead those knees?"_

Justin giggled at the puns before feeling Sans' bony hands resting gently on his sides and then bony fingers wiggling and gently poking into the ticklish skin. The boy's eyes widened before he began laughing, wondering how Sans was doing that. The skeleton paused a moment when he felt the boy squeeze his hand. "What? You okay, Justin?" He asked.

He nodded. "Is…what you're doing…called…um," he trailed off.

Sans' eyes went wide. "Justin, you've never been tickled before?" He asked.

Justin shook his head and Sans clicked his tongue. "Then you're way overdue for some tickles," he said as he returned to tickling the boy, who began laughing again. "And I'm going to tickle you silly! Cootchie, cootchie, coo! Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle! I'm the Tickle Monster and I've got you, little boy!"

Justin let out a squeal before his laughter took over again, making him unable to talk as his friend tickled him extra good, letting him up after a bit and ruffling his hair in affection. "How do you feel?" He asked.

"Really happy," the nine-year-old said with a smile. "I'm definitely glad I fell down here and met you guys."

"We are too, kiddo," Sans said with a smile.

Papyrus then came in and greeted Justin with a big warm hug. "Mettaton's show is on," he said. "Would you like to join us in watching it, Justin?"

"Sure, Papyrus," the boy said as he sat down between the brothers as they settled down to watch the show. "Let's see what _monster-tainment_ is on today."

The hoodie-wearing skeleton laughed while Papyrus looked about ready to bust out the living room window again.

* * *

 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	7. The Blind Girl

**Chapter 7: The Blind Girl**

Justin ran around the snow just outside the Ruins' back door, flopping down to build snow angels like his mom had taught him and even building a snowman like how Papyrus had taught him the other day. He was having a lot of fun and glanced around for some stones to make a mouth for his snowman when he found something odd and moved closer.

He gasped as he saw it was a girl who looked to be a little older than him and she was barely moving except for small, little movements that would have been missed if he had blinked. He removed one of his gloves and placed the back of his hand on her cheek. Her skin was very cold.

Seeing her clothes were just a t-shirt and jeans, fear filled Justin as he knew she wasn't going to make it without help. Making a quick decision, he took off his jacket, glad he had worn a sweater underneath his jacket, so he'd at least be warm and in no danger of getting sick right away as he ran for help. Covering her with his jacket, he paused. "I'll be right back," he promised, not sure if she was conscious enough to hear him, but if she was, he felt a little better at promising her.

Jumping to his feet, he began running for Snowdin. "Papyrus! Sans!" He called out as he ran. "Sans! Papyrus!"

Sans had just closed his eyes to take a nap at his sentry station after seeing Papyrus off to his Royal Guard training when he thought he heard someone call his name and he lifted his head up and blearily opened his eyes in time to see Justin running towards him. "Sans!" He called out.

The urgency in his voice made the skeleton fully wake up and he exited the little outpost and stood beside it as the nine-year-old boy came running up to him. "Whoa, Justin, what's the rush?" He asked. "Did you miss a marathon?"

The boy was out of breath and unable to answer right away, but Sans noticed right away he wasn't wearing his winter jacket. "Kiddo, where's your jacket?" He asked, taking off his hoodie and placing it around the boy. "Your mom would have kittens if she saw you running out here without your winter coat. She'd even give me a good _ear-bashing_."

To his surprise, Justin didn't laugh but looked scared about something. "Sans, there's a girl. Another human like me," he panted out. "Outside the back door to the Ruins. She's barely moving and she's really cold. She needs help."

"Show me where she is," Sans said instantly, realizing that the kid was serious and if there was another human and was on death's door, then they needed to help her fast.

Justin led the way and thankfully the back door of the Ruins wasn't too far from where they were and the skeleton spotted the boy's winter jacket on the ground, covering up the girl he had found. "I thought maybe my jacket might keep her warm or start warming her up until I got back," Justin explained.

While Sans saw that it wasn't enough to take away the whole chill from the girl, it was at least enough to possibly pull her a little bit away from death's door. His left eye lit up blue and he reached a hand out, checking her stats. "She's got a green soul," he said. "Kindness. She's eleven years old and she's blind."

His power dissipated. "She was probably trying to find a way into the Ruins and got lost," he said. "But she is just barely clinging onto life. She needs to get warm, quickly."

The boy thought fast. "Grillby's!" He exclaimed. "He can warm her up fast, right? Maybe we can get her some hot soup to help out too?"

"Good idea, kid," Sans said as he picked up the young girl in his arms, keeping the winter jacket around her. "Hold onto me, kiddo."

Justin wrapped his arms around Sans in a hug and the short skeleton teleported them into the fire monster's restaurant, landing in the warm kitchen. A bench had been put in there and from the looks of it had just been cleaned. Sans gently set the girl down on the bench, not daring to remove Justin's jacket from her yet. "She needs something to rest her head on," he said.

The boy quickly removed his scarf and folded it to be like a pillow. "Here," he said, gently putting it under her head.

"Okay, Justin. Go get Grillby. Tell him it's a dire emergency," the skeleton said.

Nodding, the boy moved quickly through the doors, finding Grillby cleaning up the table where the Royal Guard dogs had eaten at. "Grillby!" He called out, making the fire monster turn sharply at that. Justin grabbed his hand. "There's a young girl. She's blind, but she's really cold. She was outside the back door to the Ruins. She's going to die if we don't help her."

All this time, Grillby let the boy drag him to the kitchen, sensing that this was an emergency and he soon saw why. An eleven-year-old girl lay on the bench in the kitchen and she looked very pale and her lips were blue, a sign of severe cold. Sans looked up at him. "Grillbz, she needs to get warm," he said. "She's just barely holding on."

Hearing that, the fire monster sat down on the bench, lifting the girl up in his arms and holding onto her, upping the temperature of his body a bit in the process. "Justin, there's some hot tomato soup I just made. Put some in a bowl and bring it over here. Make sure it's not too hot," he said.

The boy did as he was told while Sans kept an eye on the girl's stats and green soul. "It's slowly getting brighter," he said. "Her HP just climbed up a point."

"Good," Grillby said in relief. "This young one isn't going to die on us."

Sans heard something in his friend's voice and he realized it. "Grillbz, you're doing everything possible," he said. "She's getting warmed up. You're helping her."

The fire monster didn't say anything as he was worried that the girl could still die. She wasn't out of the woods yet until she woke up and a hot meal was in her stomach. Justin brought the soup over and Grillby nodded. "Sans, we need a feeding tube," he said. "There's some long straws over there in that cabinet."

The skeleton found the straws and saw they were a long length. Seeing what his friend had in mind, he linked a couple straws together and used his telekinesis to carefully push the straw into her throat and past her windpipe, making sure it was heading into her esophagus, but he stopped when he was sure he was past the windpipe. "Okay, this is going to be a bit tricky," he said. "Justin, hold the bowl of soup up to the end of this straw and keep it steady, okay?"

"Okay," he said and did so.

About fifteen minutes later, the warm soup was in the girl's stomach and Sans carefully removed the makeshift feeding tube, his left eye lighting up again and he was pleased to see that the girl's stats had climbed up more, especially her HP, which was now at three-quarters. "Her HP is almost at the max," he said. "Her other stats are good. She's going to make it."

Justin and Grillby sighed in relief at that. "Still, Gaster and Alphys should give her a medical checkup to be sure," Grillby said. "Let's get her to the castle."

"I'll call Mom and Dad," Justin said, using the nearby telephone.

Sans teleported them a moment later to the castle where Alphys and Gaster were already in a room and ready to receive the young girl. Toriel and Alphys quickly got the young girl changed into some warm pajamas while the males waited patiently outside and came back in when given the okay.

Alphys smiled at Justin. "She's very lucky you found her when you did," she said.

"Is she going to be okay?" He asked.

Gaster nodded. "She'll make it," he said. "She's almost completely healed. You and Sans were quick thinkers to get her to Grillby."

Said fire monster was watching over the girl, hovering like a father would over a sick child. "I think Grillby's looking to adopt her," Sans said. "He's been worried since he began helping Justin and I with her."

Toriel smiled at that. "He has been thinking about being a father," she said. "This young girl just might be willing to have him adopt her."

"Did you find anything about her, Sans?" Asgore asked.

"Just that she's blind and eleven-years-old," the skeleton answered. "I didn't see any signs of abuse, but there might be some things not showing up right now due to her state."

The king nodded. "Well, we'll wait until she wakes up," he said. "And be careful around her. If she's blind, any sudden movements or sounds could scare her."

They all nodded at that, deciding to wait around the room until the young girl woke up.

* * *

 **And another child has fallen into the Underground. Who is she? Stay tuned to find out! :)**

 **And please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	8. Seeing With Her Hands

**Chapter 8: Seeing With Her Hands**

The blind girl woke up, hearing voices all around her, and she reached out, finding Gaster's hand, making the monster lightly jump before he gently squeezed her hand. "She's awake," he said to the others.

The girl noted something was different with his hands, feeling the holes in the palms of his hands. "What are these?" She asked softly.

The tall skeleton gently squeezed her hand in return. "An accident from long ago," he said gently. "Child, you've fallen into the Underground."

"Underground?" She asked, turning her head a little to indicate she was listening very closely.

"Yes, beneath Mt. Ebbot," Asgore said, speaking now and allowing the young girl to hold his hand curiously as she seemed to be deciding what they were. "We monsters were banished here almost half a century ago and have made the Underground into our home."

She looked surprised. "Child, can you tell us your name?" Toriel now asked.

The young girl reached out and Toriel placed her hand in the child's hand, to which the young girl ran her hand carefully over the goat woman's hand and she looked thoughtful. "My name is Lana," she said. "But…I don't understand. Why haven't you hurt me?"

Not taking offense at her confusion, the others were unsure what to say until Papyrus stepped forward, his gloved hand gently brushing Lana's shoulder. She jumped slightly, but reached up and took his hand, again using her hands to try and 'see' what he looked like. "We won't hurt you, Lana," the tall skeleton said gently. "We're not the monsters humans have made us out to be."

Lana sat up, titling her head back as she realized Papyrus was really tall and she reached out her hands, managing to rest them on his shoulders before her hands moved carefully. "You're tall," she said. "But…you're very gentle. Like a gentle giant."

That made the others smile before she smiled. "I agree with what you said earlier," she now said. "I can sense none of you mean me any harm."

They heard the conviction in her voice. "How are you so sure?" Sans asked curiously.

Smiling, Lana stood up, carefully testing her balance on the floor before fully standing up, gasping when she felt herself become unsteady and feeling four arms quickly catch her. "Easy, we've got you," Papyrus soothed, feeling her grasp his shoulder. She also grasped Grillby's shoulder as he was the other one to catch her and she took a deep breath before trying her balance again, successfully staying upright this time. She then turned to where she heard Sans' voice and reached out, moving forward a little. He moved to the side and she stopped, turning to her left to face him again. Arching a brow bone, the short skeleton tried it again, moving to his left, but Lana moved to her right after a moment. "Hold still," she said, the smile on her face showing that she wasn't upset, but amused.

"Kid, that's really uncanny how you know exactly where I move," Sans said.

She giggled, finally catching up to him and she ran her hands gently over his face and his shoulders, smiling. "Although I'm blind, I use my other sense to 'see' for me," she explained. "You all were talking, which woke me up, but then you've made sure to be gentle."

"Well, we didn't want to spook you, since you can't see us," the short skeleton said gently. "Although…you don't seem too spooked about touching bone."

"I was wondering why your face felt familiar to me," she said. "So…wait."

She again ran her hands gently over his face, instantly noting he lacked skin. She moved her hands down to his hands and carefully felt them in her own. "You…don't have any skin," she said and her blind eyes widened. "Are you…a skeleton?"

"Yup. Me, Pap, and Gaster," he said.

She blinked. "Who?"

"The tall skeleton who caught you and the skeleton who has the holes in his hands."

Lana now understood and nodded. "What about…the fire?" She asked.

Sans smiled, guessing she meant Grillby and gently turned her to face the others, motioning the fire monster forward. "That fire?" He asked.

She reached her hands out and nodded after a moment. "That's Grillby," Sans explained. "He's a fire monster and made of fire. He's also the one that saved your life after Justin found you outside the Ruins."

"Justin?" Lana asked.

"That's me," the boy said. "I'm a human like you. I fell down here some time back and Toriel and Asgore, the king and queen, adopted me."

She reached for him and soon found his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. "It was your voice," she said. "I heard you. You promised you'd be right back. You…You put something warm over me."

"My jacket," he said. "I didn't know if you heard me."

"I did," she said. "You saved me."

Justin blushed. "Well, it wasn't just me," he admitted. "Uncle Sans helped me get you to Grillby, who was able to get you warmed up before we got you over here."

Lana smiled. "So you're all heroes," she said, still smiling. "Thank you all."

Grillby reached forward and gently took her hands in his own and she smiled before hugging him, surprising him, but he returned the hug with a smile. "Lana, when you've fully recovered, we'll get you back to the surface," he said.

She gently pulled away and shook her head. "I'm a foster kid," she said. "I don't have anyone and my foster parents didn't care. They completely ignored that I'm blind."

She then clung to Grillby. "I…I ran up…to the mountain," she said. "I just…wanted to escape, but being unable to see, I didn't know where I was going."

Hearing that, the fire monster held her in a comforting hug. "Shh," he said soothingly, rubbing her back softly to help her calm down.

Seeing this, Justin turned to his parents. "Mom. Dad, would you guys allow Grillby to adopt Lana?" He asked. "She's taken right to him."

"And he is equally protective of her," said Toriel. "Asgore?"

He nodded, which officially finalized the adoption and Grillby was both happy and proud to be a father while Lana was happy to have a new father who really seemed to care about her.

And she didn't need her hands to see the joy on her new father's face. She felt it inside her just as he did.

* * *

 **What do you guys think of Lana? And she's got an awesome new father now. :)**

 **Please leave a review, but no flames! (Or else I'll send Grillby after you. XD)**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	9. Bonds Grow Stronger

**Chapter 9: Bonds Grow Stronger**

"Lana, why don't you go outside with Justin and play for a bit?" Grillby suggested. "The dinner rush won't start for a little while."

"Okay, Dad," she said, giving him a hug that he warmly returned and watched her get into her winter jacket and helping her tie her scarf securely around her neck before she put on her hat and gloves and carefully made her way to the door of the restaurant. While she was blind, she had practiced for the past week on how many steps it was to the door from the bar and how many steps to each side before she bumped into a table, along with feeling with her hands to find things. Grillby helped her out over that week and was pleased to see she was confident about finding her way around, despite being blind.

Justin was outside the door and grinned when Lana came out. "Hey, Lana, I was going to build a snow fort," he said. "Wanna help?"

"Sure," she said with a smile. "But you're going to have to guide me on what to do."

"No problem," he said. The young boy had taken to the older girl as if she was his older sister and loved helping her out. She accepted the help in stride and caught on fast to many things. Undyne, who was on patrol, paused when she saw the two and stopped to watch them.

They reminded her of Rose in many ways and she sighed, missing the girl who had proven that like Chara, some humans would accept them. She hadn't really gotten to know Justin since he had fallen and hadn't yet met Lana, although Papyrus had told her all about the blind girl. She set her spear down nearby and went up to them. "Hey, kids," she said.

Justin looked up, recognizing the fish woman from Papyrus' description of her. "You must be Undyne," he said. "Uncle Papyrus has told me a lot about you."

She smiled at that, kneeling down beside them. "And you're Justin, the king and queen's son, right?" She asked and he nodded.

Lana, hearing the woman's voice, turned to her right where Undyne had kneeled down and gently pulled off her gloves. Justin took them as the older girl began running her hands gently over the armor on Undyne's shoulders before moving up to get a mental picture of her facial features. "What are you doing, kid?" The fish woman asked.

"She can't see you, Undyne," Justin explained. "She uses her hands to 'see' for her."

Understanding dawned on the warrior's face. "You're…blind, kid?" She asked gently.

Lana nodded before noting Undyne had long hair. "Your hair is long," she said with a smile. "Justin, what color is Undyne's hair?"

"It's red, like hot pepper," he answered.

She smiled. "I've heard she's a warrior," she said.

"That's right, kid," Undyne said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Lana," the eleven-year-old girl answered.

The fish woman recognized the name. "You're Grillby's daughter," she said, seeing the girl nod. "Asgore told me he had adopted a girl who had fallen down here a week ago."

She then smiled. "What were you guys doing before I came up?" She asked.

"We're building a snow fort," Justin answered. "I was showing Lana how to make it and it's coming along pretty good."

"How about an extra set of hands?" Undyne offered.

"Sure," Lana said with a smile. "We want it to be tall and you're tall like Papyrus, right?"

The fish woman chuckled. "He's got a few inches on me, but other than that, yeah, we're close in height."

"Cool!" Justin said. "We're trying to hollow it out a bit and use that snow to build up the fort and give us a place to hide if someone comes up."

Undyne grinned. "And I know exactly what I want to do when the fort's ready," she said.

"What?" Lana asked.

The warrior leaned closer to them. "Get Sans and Papyrus with snowballs," she whispered in a low voice.

The kids giggled at that and the three of them began working on the fort double time, finishing it soon and quickly getting a stash of snowballs ready, making it a large stash and Undyne even constructed a back door for them in the fort for one of them to go get more snowballs if they ran out of ammo. Justin suddenly spotted the skeleton brothers and ducked down. "Here they come," he whispered and the three of them giggled and hunkered down, Lana listening very carefully before she grinned.

"Now," she said softly.

With a warrior cry, Undyne launched two snowballs, hitting her targets right on and causing them both to jump in surprise before Justin pelted them with two more snowballs and Lana also successfully did so, the three of them laughing heartily.

Sans brushed the snow off himself as did Papyrus before the tall skeleton leaned down to make a snowball and Sans collected a little bit of snow nearby that was fluffy and not firmed down into packing snow yet and levitated it over the fort before letting it drop down on the three inside and they let out cries of surprise. "Sans! You cheated!" Undyne exclaimed, her laugh taking the heat out of her words as she threw another snowball at him, but he turned it around and made it hit her instead, making her let out a sound of mock surprise.

Justin and Lana were laughing as they threw a few more snowballs, but Papyrus' snowball landed a hit on Justin, making him laugh before Lana squealed as a Gaster Blaster gently grabbed the back of her jacket and lifted her out of the fort and brought her over to Sans, who grinned and he began tickling her sides, which made her squeal. Despite having her winter jacket on, Sans could easily tickle her with it on and she squirmed until the blaster put her down and she ran for the restaurant with the skeleton hot on her heels.

Going inside the warm restaurant, Lana slipped off her jacket at the door, making Grillby smile as he saw her face was getting rosy and jumped slightly when she squeaked and fell over as Sans tickled her again, catching her so that she didn't get hurt. "Gotcha, kid," he said.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She laughed out. "SAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHANS!"

He chuckled. "Nope, gotta hear that cute laugh," he said.

Lana had confided that she wasn't overly happy about being tickled because she had a laugh that embarrassed her, so the joke-loving skeleton took it upon himself to prove that she had a cute laugh and even Grillby agreed when he heard his daughter laugh. Although, she still had some uncertainty about her laugh, she now didn't really mind if one of the monsters tickled her.

Justin came running in before Papyrus scooped him up and began tickling him, making him laugh as Undyne came in, looking a bit too cold, but laughing. "Oh, man, that was fun," she said.

Grillby motioned to the counter. "I've got hot chocolate for you all," he said. "On the house."

"Awesome!" Justin said, managing to get away from Papyrus. "Thanks, Uncle Grillby!"

"Just what we needed to take the _chill out of our bones,"_ Sans said.

Papyrus made a face at his brother, making the others laugh as Undyne thanked Grillby too. "It was getting a little cold out there," she said.

"But we had fun," Lana said, hugging her father. "Thanks, Dad."

Mettaton then came in. "Oh, Lana, there you are, darling," he said. "The new season of my cooking and singing show is coming up soon and I was wondering if you'd be interested in starring in them again."

The eleven-year-old's eyes lit up. The robot star had allowed her to join in as a guest earlier in the week, mindful of her blindness and working with her as if they had practiced it earlier. She had enjoyed it and turned to Grillby. "Dad, can I?" She asked hopefully.

He nodded. "Just keep in mind her disability," he said to Mettaton.

"Of course, Grillby," the star said. "I've already worked out on many things and will be helping her with verbal cues and such. Far be it from me to leave her stumbling around and unable to find her lines and that. That would be too cruel."

One thing Lana liked is that the monsters were willing to work with her and her lack of sight, not making fun of her at all. Even Grillby worked with her every day on it, being a doting and understanding father to her.

After Mettaton and Undyne left, Sans reached into his pocket. "Hey, Lana, Gaster and Alphys made this for you," he said, pulling out something that looked like a peppermint stick, gently placing it in her hands.

"What is it?" She asked, trying to understand what it was by feel.

"It's a cane for you to help you while walking," he explained. "So that you'll know where things like trees and tables are when you're walking."

"So I don't bump into them," she said with a smile.

"Right," he said. "Can you feel the two buttons on it?"

She nodded. "Yes?"

"Press the bottom one near the end farthest from you."

At the instruction, she did so and the can unfolded to the proper length and she tested it out, getting the hang of it quickly and she smiled, going over to Sans and hugging him. "Please tell Gaster and Alphys I said 'thank you'," she said.

"I will," he promised with a smile.

To Lana, the cane was not only a gift, but a sign of the monsters' kindness too. They showed her more kindness than the surface world ever had and for that, she was thankful and happy to be among those who took the time to understand and help her, accepting her into their homes without hesitation as if she was one of their own, something she would always be grateful for.

* * *

 **So Lana's fitting right into the Underground. Next up, many more years pass and another child falls into the Underground. Who is it? Stay tuned to find out! :)**

 **And please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	10. Sadness To Peace

**Chapter 10: Sadness To Peace**

Another fifty years passed in the Underground, making it now a full century that the monsters had been trapped into the Underground and due to the magic of the Underground, Lana and Justin hadn't aged more than a year. Gaster deduced that since they had been in the Underground for so long, the magic was thicker down there than before when Rose had fallen, thus it affected on how Lana and Justin had grown, but it was alright, because the two were happy, as were the monsters, despite the fact that the barrier was still in place. They did all still wish to be free, but were willing to wait and see if more children fell into the Underground and if those children could tell them what the surface world was like.

On patrol one day, Undyne began to really think about asking the King and Queen if she could maybe adopt the next child who fell. Seeing how much Grillby loved being a father to Lana and how much the King and Queen had loved Chara, Asriel, Rose, and now Justin made her think about if maybe she could be a good mother to a human child. She definitely wanted a chance.

She was interrupted out of her thoughts suddenly when she saw someone up ahead and as she got closer, she could plainly hear crying and she stopped short at seeing a six-year-old boy sitting on a rock and crying. "Another human," she said softly before her heart practically jumped. Maybe…this was her chance to be a mom. She slowly approached the child. "Hey, what's wrong, kid?" She asked gently.

The boy looked up at her sadly. "My mom died," he said softly. "She was really sick and…she passed away."

Undyne felt a sharp pang run through her at that. This child had experienced a loss like she and the other monsters had. The death of a loved one. She bowed her head. "I know how you feel, kid," she said softly. "I lost three dear friends of mine too."

The boy looked at her. "Who are you?" He asked.

"My name's Undyne," she said. "How about you, kiddo?"

"Caleb," he said.

"That's a cool name," the fish woman said as she decided she was at least going to help Caleb out. "Hey, come on. It's getting late. You hungry?"

He nodded. "Well, I make some good spaghetti, if that's okay with you."

His face lit up. "I love spaghetti," he said. "Mom always made it for me for dinner."

Undyne smiled. "Well, I don't know if I can make spaghetti like your mom could, kiddo, but I can make a decent plate of it," she said.

A moment later, she was nearing her house with Caleb following beside her, reaching up to hold her hand. He even asked to explore her home while she made dinner, which she let him, deciding that if she was going to adopt him, it was fair that he explore.

* * *

 _One week later…_

Undyne looked at her calendar, surprised that it had already been one week since she had taken Caleb in and the kid had grown on her, even asking her the other night if she'd be his other mother, since his first mom was gone. She had gotten choked up and told him that she'd love to be his second mom.

She now called Asgore and Toriel on the phone, telling them about Caleb and how she wished to adopt him and how the boy had taken a space in her heart and she wanted to be a good mother-figure for him. The King and Queen readily granted her permission to adopt the boy and the fish woman could have flipped for joy when she was told 'yes'.

After making breakfast, she saw Caleb come in. "Hey, sport. Just made breakfast for us," she said.

The six-year-old hugged her and ate. "Thanks, Mom," he said. "Can I go play at the waterfall today?"

Undyne smiled. "Okay, but don't go beyond the waterfall, alright?"

"Okay, Mom."

Watching her adoptive son head out, she then had an idea and headed out, watching for Caleb and waiting to sneak up on him. While the official adoption wouldn't take place until the next few days, she still wanted to spend time with the boy she would soon officially call her son, although unofficially, she was already doing so.

Caleb was skipping rocks on the water and even looking at the echo flowers that grew nearby. "I wish Mom would adopt me," he said.

Hearing this, Undyne's voice caught in her throat. "Mama would understand and she'd like Mom if she was here," Caleb continued. "I hope she'll adopt me someday."

It was hard to make Undyne speechless, but as it sank in her mind that the boy's wish echoed her own, she felt a stronger desire to be a good mother for him and she then smiled as she knew that when it was made official, the boy would no doubt be ecstatic. She now continued sneaking up behind him and reached out slowly before scooping him up in her arms, making him jump in surprise before he began giggling. "Mom!" He said happily.

"Hey, kiddo," she said with a smile as she lifted the boy up over her head and they played around for a bit before heading over to Grillby's restaurant. Caleb saw Lana and Justin playing a card game and he asked if he could join them. Reminding him to ask first, Undyne let him go over to the other two.

"So, thinking about being a mom, huh?"

Recognizing the voice, Undyne turned to see Sans was sitting beside her. "Yeah," she said. "I really do."

"So you do have a soft heart under that tough armor," he said teasingly. "And he's got patience as his main trait."

"I figured that from the way he acted," she said.

Sans smiled. "You've got a big soft spot for him," he said, still lightly teasing her.

"Tease me all you want, Sans," she said. "I'm firm about wanting to adopt Caleb. He's got no one left in his life and…I would like to be a mom."

Undyne's face then took on a look of worry. "I…I really hope I can be a good mom to him," she admitted.

"I know you will be," the skeleton said reassuringly. "Here's a bit of advice: use the same drive and commitment you have as the Royal Guard to be a mom to the kid."

The fish woman smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said. "Caleb's a good kid. He's even shown an interest in training with me and so far has caught on pretty quick."

She then looked at her friend. "Do you really think…I can be a good mom to Caleb?" She asked him.

"Undyne, I know you can do it," Sans said firmly.

"Thanks," she said. "I swear I'll be a good mom to him."

She then paused. "I wonder if his first mom is watching, wherever she is."

"I bet she is," he said. "And I bet she's glad her son has another mother who will raise him well."

Undyne smiled again, now really looking forward for the day she'd officially adopt Caleb.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Pretty cool, huh? :)**

 **As for those of you wondering about Frisk, she will appear after the sixth child, so we still have a little ways to go before we get to her. Also, don't worry, there won't be any genocide in this story. This story is strictly pacifist. :)**

 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	11. Caleb's Idols

**Chapter 11: Caleb's Idols**

It was now three months later since Undyne had adopted Caleb and the boy couldn't have been happier as the fish woman had turned one of her guest rooms into her son's new room from stuff they had gone and collected from the dump and salvaged into furniture and stuff for the six-year-old boy. The boy had even found a play warrior's set that someone had thrown away and when he found it fit him perfectly, he wanted to train with his new mother, to be a Royal Guard like her.

Her son's enthusiasm reminded her of Papyrus and she knew that Caleb and the tall skeleton would get along well, something that proved true when Papyrus had arrived for training one day and had been eager to meet the boy, who was surprised to see a skeleton, but seeing the Royal Guard trainee had contagious enthusiasm, the six-year-old found it hard to not like Papyrus, who instantly liked him and declared them friends forever, which thrilled Caleb to pieces. Undyne had not only been relieved, but also happy that her friend had accepted her son so readily and she happily trained them both as both took training seriously.

One day, Caleb was in the yard by himself, trying a new maneuver his mother had taught him. "I can get it," he said to himself and moved the wooden staff exactly like how Undyne had, but just as he was about to nail the maneuver, he turned too fast and couldn't correct himself in time and fell down. "Not again," he groaned. "I can get it all up until that point. Why can't I finish it right?"

He was really hoping to make his mom proud by getting the maneuver down, but he kept missing the last step. Sighing, he got up and sadly walked down the path, not really planning to go anywhere, but straight and it wasn't long before he found himself in Snowdin and the cold hit him a bit, making him shiver. "Should have grabbed my coat," he said ruefully.

Something warm was suddenly placed around him and he looked in surprise to see it was a familiar blue hoodie and glanced up to see Sans in front of him, zipping up the hoodie so that Caleb would be warm. "Hey, Caleb," he said with a smile. "What's got you _down in the dumps?"_

"I'm having a hard time with a new maneuver Mom taught me," the boy answered. "I've been working hard on it since yesterday, but I always mess up on the very last part of the maneuver and can't seem to get it right."

"Well, some maneuvers do take time, kiddo," Sans said, his smile still in place.

"But I want to get the maneuver down so badly," Caleb protested, looking down at the ground. "I want to make Mom proud of me."

Papyrus, who had been passing by, happen to overhear Caleb and was surprised that the boy was so worried about getting a maneuver down just right. He knew the feeling, but knew that only practice would help to get any tricky maneuver down. He then saw how upset his young friend looked and quickly headed off for Waterfall.

Sans decided the kid could use a pick me up. "Hey, have you had lunch yet?" He asked.

Caleb shook his head and his stomach growled too, making him give the skeleton a sheepish look. "Come on," the joke-loving skeleton said. "Let's go eat at Grillby's. My treat."

The boy nodded. "Okay," he said.

"And on top of that, Grillby can help you too," Sans said, gently ruffling the boy's hair, which the six-year-old playfully waved off the skeleton's hand and tried to smooth down his hair again, hearing his friend chuckle in amusement.

They saw Lana inside setting one of the tables when they came in and she turned to them with a smile. Despite being blind, she used her sensitive hearing to tell her who arrived and she could tell if it was one of the monsters she knew or a newcomer and she could even tell the monsters apart with just her hearing. She now tilted her head slightly and smiled. "Hello, Sans," she said with a smile. "Who's with you?"

"It's Caleb," Sans said with a smile. "Undyne adopted him a few months ago."

Lana smiled and went up to them. "Hello, Caleb," she greeted him.

"Hi, Lana," he answered her.

She smiled, her hand gently resting on his head before moving slowly to 'see' him. Knowing she was blind, Caleb let her do so. "You're very quiet," she said after a moment. "Is everything okay?"

He gave her a surprised look. "Um, not totally," he admitted. "Is it…really that obvious?"

Her fingers gently rested near his mouth. "Well, I could feel you were frowning a little," she admitted. "I didn't know if you were uncomfortable with me feeling your face or if something was bothering you."

Understanding, he nodded and gently squeezed her hand. "It's okay," he said. "But yeah, something's kinda weighing on me."

"Must be pretty heavy," Sans said.

Getting the joke, Lana groaned good-naturedly. "Dad's right. Your jokes are really dry," she said.

The skeleton grinned and while he knew she'd hear him if he snuck up on her, he did chuckle and pull her into a hug that she accepted, only to squeal a moment later when bony fingers tickled her sides and she giggled. "Sans," she protested through her giggles, but it was without heat.

"Oh, that protest didn't have a lot of spark," he said teasingly, knowing she really didn't mind him tickling her.

Caleb smiled at that and then looked up to see Grillby come out and the fire monster put his hands on his hips. "Sans, are you going to tickle my daughter all day?" He asked, pretending to be serious, but the smile on his face proved he was amused.

"Depends," Sans said with a grin. "Maybe you can take 25 G off my tab every time I tickle her."

"Nice try," the bartender said with an amused chuckle.

The skeleton shrugged. "It was worth a shot," he said jokingly as he let Lana up and she took a moment to compose herself.

"The usual today, Sans?" She asked.

"You got it, kiddo," he said.

"Caleb?"

"Whatever Sans is having," the boy answered her.

Lana went into the kitchen to get the orders ready while Sans and Caleb went up to the bar and sat down and the boy looked up at Grillby. "Sans said you could help me," he said to the fire monster.

"Oh?" The bartender replied questioningly. "What is troubling you, Caleb?"

The boy sighed. "Mom taught a new maneuver the other day and I've been really practicing on it, but can't get it right," he admitted. "And I've really tried to get it down."

Grillby was quiet, but nodded to show Caleb he was listening. "I wonder if I'll ever get it right," the six-year-old admitted softly.

"Just do your best, Caleb, and you'll get that maneuver," the fire monster said encouragingly.

Caleb looked a bit more saddened. "I really want to make Mom proud of me," he admitted.

Undyne, who had gone searching for Caleb in Snowdin after Papyrus had found her and told her about the boy's worries and had just walked into Grillby's in time to hear her son say that, was instantly behind him and picked him up in her arms. "Caleb, I'm very proud of you," she said, sureness in her voice. "You don't have to anything to make me prouder, hon, because I love you. Do you understand, my little warrior?"

The six-year-old nodded, looking at his mother as Lana came out with their order and smiled. "Undyne never lies, Caleb," she said, a gentle smile on her face. "You never have to doubt what she tells you."

"Lana's right," said Papyrus, who had come in just moments before and placed a hand on Caleb's shoulder. "And I'll help you out if you're having trouble on maneuvers."

The boy looked surprised, but then thrilled. "Papyrus. Mom, you guys are my idols," he said sincerely.

Hearing that, the two beamed and Undyne hugged her son close, proud to be a mother to the boy.

* * *

 **I just love these family moments.**

 **Next chapter: More time passes and another child comes to the Underground. Who is it? Stay tuned to find out. :)**

 **And please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	12. A Mother's Last Wish

**Chapter 12: A Mother's Last Wish**

Another forty years passed and the Underground was a bit brighter, thanks to Lana, Justin, and Caleb, who made life happier for the inhabitants. They were now playing tag with Sans, Papyrus, Grillby, and Undyne. Caleb managed to scamper away from his mother, who grinned proudly while she tried to catch her son and Grillby tried to sneak up on Lana, but knew she'd hear him, which she did. However, Sans helped out by catching Lana and gently spinning her around before letting her go so that Grillby could catch her and lift her up over his head, making her laugh. "Dad," she playfully protested, but couldn't stop laughing as the game continued.

Toriel and Asgore were sitting nearby and watching them, smiling as they watched their son surprise Papyrus and the skeleton practically jumped three feet off the ground when Justin began tickling his spine, making the tall skeleton squeal and try to gently shake him off, but the boy hung on. "What's wrong, Uncle Papyrus? I thought you liked hugs," he said mischievously.

The tall skeleton grinned. "As a matter of fact, I do," he said. "And I happen to know you do too."

Justin let out a surprised squeal as Papyrus caught him in his arms and lifted him up in a big hug, tickling him playfully. Sans laughed heartily as he watched and Lana giggled as Grillby described to her what Sans was laughing at and she found it funny too.

Toriel happened to look up and she gasped. "Someone's coming," she said.

The merriment stopped and they all gazed in the direction where Toriel had pointed out. Lana, unable to see, held onto her father. "Dad, who is coming?" She asked. "Is it one of the monsters we know? Or maybe…another human child?"

As the figure drew closer, Undyne gasped sharply. "It's an adult human," she said. "Female, I think."

"An adult?" Grillby asked in surprise.

Lana, who had been listening, now gasped, her blind eyes wide. "She has a baby with her," she said. "I can hear the baby crying a little. And…the woman…she's the baby's mother. But…,"

"But what, Lana?" Asgore asked curiously.

The eleven-year-old took a moment to listen. "I think…I think she's hurt," she said. "She's groaning in pain."

By now, the human woman had gotten closer to them and they all saw Lana was right about a baby as the woman was holding a baby girl to her and gently shushing it as she made her way to them. Sans quickly checked her stats and his eyes widened. "She's dying," he said softly.

"Who, Sans?" Papyrus asked.

"The mother," the short skeleton answered. "She's been badly wounded."

Toriel instantly went up to the woman with Asgore beside her and caught her just as the mother stumbled and fell into the snow, clutching the baby protectively and gasping for air. The Queen instantly spotted the wound, but knew from what she saw, it was too late to help the woman. "I'm sorry," she said. "The wound is too deep."

"I know," the woman said softly before gently kissing her baby's forehead and lifting her up towards Toriel. "Please. My daughter needs you."

The Queen instantly accepted the baby into her arms, but looked worried, as did Asgore, who called Gaster and Alphys over and they instantly came over. "If we hurry, we can possibly save her," the tall skeleton said.

"No," the young woman protested, gently waving them away. "I've come far and know my daughter will be safe with you."

They looked at each other and Toriel decided that the mother should at least name her child. "What is her name?" She asked softly.

The woman smiled. "Ingrid," she answered before looking at them pleadingly. "Please, raise her as your own?"

Toriel nodded and Asgore also nodded. "You have our word that we'll raise Ingrid as our own," he said.

"Thank you," she said gratefully before taking her last breath and closing her eyes, falling into the peaceful forever sleep.

They all hung their heads, being silent to honor the young mother before Undyne called the Royal Guard Dogs, who set to work digging a grave for the human and making a coffin for her, taking great care to place the young mother's dead body inside the coffin and then lowered it into the grave. One of them placed a blank headstone up before carefully chiseling in some words and standing back for the others to see.

" _A young mother who fell and gave her daughter a new home, her love for her daughter clearly seen by all. May she rest in peace."_

"That's perfect," Sans said.

Caleb nodded, a few tears falling down his face. "Makes me think of my first mom," he said softly.

Undyne nodded and picked him up. "I was thinking the same thing, kiddo," she said softly.

Gaster concentrated for a moment and soon held up a clear crystal heart. "Sans? What were her traits?" He asked.

"She had patience, determination, and kindness as her traits," the short skeleton answered.

The colors red, blue, and green swirled inside the crystal before settling, making the crystal beautiful as Gaster gently placed it on the gravestone, bowing his head as he stepped back. Toriel stood up, still holding Ingrid. "Someday, we'll tell her," she said.

"Yes," Asgore said with a nod.

"But it appears the surface world is still not understanding," Grillby said sadly.

That fact saddened them all and Toriel sighed. "Oh, if I could, I'd give every child on the surface a good home," she said.

"Maybe that's what Ingrid's mother was hoping for," Papyrus said in a quiet voice. "For her daughter to have a good home."

The Queen nodded, both in understanding and in gratefulness. "Thank you, Papyrus," she said. "If one adult human can trust us, maybe more will."

"Until we know, we will raise our adopted children with love," Asgore said.

Justin, who had immediately taken to his new little sister, smiled up at his father. "You guys are already doing that," he said.

"Justin's right," Lana said with a smile. "You all took us in and have been raising us with love. You could have easily turned us away with us being human, but you didn't."

"And we're happier now with you guys," Caleb said with a smile. "You gave us good homes and opened your hearts to us."

Smiling, Grillby and Undyne hugged their children and Justin hugged his parents. "I'm sure Rose feels that way too," he said, referring to the first girl who fell so long ago.

Sans smiled. "I bet she's smiling down at us," he said. "As are Chara and Asriel."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **So the fifth child has now come to the Underground. Next chapter takes a look into the monsters who have adopted the children and how much they love their adopted children.**

 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	13. A Parent's Love

**Chapter 13: A Parent's Love**

Justin was in the living room, gazing at a picture of his parents with Rose as his new little sister, Ingrid, was playing with some of her toys on a nearby blanket. The little one was now almost seven months old and she let out a gentle sound, making her older brother turn to her and smile. "I'm okay, Ingrid," he said, laying down on his stomach in front of her and she mimicked his position, making him smile again. "I was just thinking about our older sister Rose and our other two siblings, Asriel and Chara."

Ingrid looked up at him, her face bright and he smiled, believing she understood. "They died a while ago," he said softly. "I bet they would have loved having you as a baby sister like I do."

"Bro!" She said, pointing to him.

He chuckled. "That's right," he said before looking back up at the pictures. "I wonder if they would have instantly accepted us and loved us like Mom and Dad do."

"Yes, they would have," came his father's voice and he turned to see the King come into the room. Ingrid giggled happily and reached up for her father.

"Dada!" She called to him, making Asgore chuckle as he picked her up and then motioned Justin to follow him. He sat in his big chair and motioned the boy to climb into his lap. Once both children were settled down, he smiled.

"Asriel and Chara always wanted more siblings," he said. "They didn't mind if their siblings would be older or younger, although Chara did hope for a big sister and Asriel hoped for a big brother."

"They would have loved Rose then," Justin said.

Asgore nodded. "Yes," he said, remembering his other daughter. "Despite having cancer, she was a fighter and she wished she could have met her siblings too."

Ingrid lay her head down on her adoptive father's chest and heard his heartbeat as she contently sat in his lap. Her older brother did the same. "Dad, do you really think they would have loved us like you and Mom do?" He asked.

The tall goat monster nodded. "Yes, they would have," he said. "Toriel taught them compassion and love and they all latched onto those teachings."

Toriel, who had come in to hear the conversation, smiled. "All three of your siblings had love and compassion for each other," she said. "Even though Rose didn't physically meet them. Chara and Asriel were inseparable and looked out for each other, just as you watch over Ingrid, Justin."

"And just as Ingrid looks up to you, son," Asgore added.

Justin glanced back at the pictures. "Were the rest of the monsters attached to our siblings too?" He asked.

"Yes," said Toriel. "Asriel's and Chara's deaths hit them hard, as did Rose's death. The whole Underground loved those three, just as they love you and Ingrid, son. Granted, it's a little different from how your father and I love you, but it's a family love all the same."

Ingrid then perked her head up. "Story?" She asked hopefully.

Both goat parents smiled at their youngest child's inquiry. While only knowing a handful of words, they were proud that 'story' was one of her words. Justin also looked hopeful and they smiled. "Why don't we tell them about the time Asriel and Chara made Undyne wear that frilly pink dress to attend their tea party?" Toriel suggested, barely able to keep her laughter down as she recalled that time.

"Didn't they put makeup on her too, using your makeup?" Asgore asked.

"Oh, yes," she said. "Though they did pretty good for beginners."

Justin smiled and gently touched Ingrid's hand with one finger, feeling her grip his finger and smile as they looked up at their parents to give them their full attention for the story.

In Waterfall, Undyne and Caleb were in the backyard doing some maneuvers before Papyrus showed up for training and the boy looked up at her. "Mom, can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Sure, son," she said with a smile. "Something bugging ya?"

"Kind of," he admitted. "If…If you could go back in time, would you still adopt me? Or have chosen…someone else to adopt?"

The fish woman froze in surprise at his question. Setting aside her spear, she motioned him to follow her to the back porch and she sat down, motioning him to sit beside her. "Who put that idea in your head?" She asked, worried someone might have bullied her son.

"No one," he admitted. "It's just…well, when my first mom was sick, I heard some people say I was the reason for it and the reason she couldn't get better. I didn't want to believe them and my first mom said she loved me no matter what, but when she died, they again said if they could go back in time, they'd make sure that she wasn't sick because of me. They would have prevented my being born."

Anger filled Undyne at that. If she could face those arrogant people right now, she'd give them something to think about. How dare they accuse Caleb of causing his first mother's sickness and death! It wasn't his fault at all. Some people just got sick and sometimes that sickness wasn't easy to fight. She remembered how sick Chara had been before she had died and that had been no one's fault. Sighing, she turned to her son. "Caleb," she said, making him look at her. "Those people were wrong. You didn't cause your first mother's death and you certainly didn't make her sick either. Sometimes, people just get sick and are unable to fight the sickness. Your first mom was sadly one of those people, but I'm sure she told you that you were never the cause of her being sick."

He looked away. "Yeah, she did," he said. "But…the people that told that to me were my…grandparents."

Oh, now she really wanted to hit something. Her son's own family turning on him like that? No wonder he had run away. She took a deep breath and let it out before turning to him. "Caleb, I wouldn't trade you for anyone one else in the world," she said. "Not even for another boy to be my son."

The young boy looked up at her hopefully. "You promise, Mom?" He asked.

"I promise, kiddo," Undyne said firmly. "Nothing in the world could ever make me trade you for anyone else."

Caleb hugged her and she returned the hug, holding him securely in her arms so that he knew she loved him very much. Papyrus then appeared in the backyard and paused a moment, sensing it was a family moment. Undyne saw him and smiled. "Oh, hey, Papyrus," she said with a smile. "Ready for training?"

"Yes, but if you and Caleb are busy, I could come back later," the tall skeleton said.

He felt the boy hug his legs and he smiled, lifting the six-year-old up into his arms in a hug. "Mom was just reassuring me that she'd never replace me," Caleb said.

Papyrus gave him a surprised look. "Of course she wouldn't!" He firmly declared. "Who would be my awesome nephew and sparring partner if she did?"

Undyne and Caleb both laughed at that, making the tall skeleton beam at the fact that he had cheered them both up and reaffirmed what the fish woman had said earlier. He watched his friend now pick up her spear and nod.

"Alright, let's get on that training," she said.

Over at Grillby's restaurant in Snowdin, Lana was wiping down some tables that her father had cleaned up after the lunch rush and a peaceful quiet filled the atmosphere, which gave the two time to clean up, get the dishes done, and get ready for the evening crowd.

Grillby collected a few tips and placed them in a jar behind the counter before going up to see Lana had just finished wiping down the last table and dry it off. "Okay, how many placings of silverware and napkins do we need?" She asked.

"Well, all tables were filled, so they'll all need four placings," the fire monster answered.

Nodding, Lana immediately went over to the collection of silverware wrapped in napkins and picked up the container, going to each table and carefully counting out the place settings before she paused for a moment and sighed, a sound Grillby picked up on and grew concerned. "Lana? Are you alright?" He asked. "You can rest if you want to, sweetheart."

She turned to him, her blind eyes looking at him. "Dad, can you be honest with me?" She asked, her face giving him a pleading look.

"Of course, pumpkin," he said, sitting down in a nearby booth and holding out a hand. "Come over here and tell me what's got you down."

She reached a hand forward and walked a few steps, moving her hand around until she felt him gently take her hand. Holding his hand, she walked over to him and felt him lift her up into his lap. Even though she was eleven, he still let her sit in his lap. She looked up at him, her eyes looking troubled. "Dad, is my blindness…well…is it a hassle to you?" She asked.

Grillby felt confusion fill him. "What do you mean, kiddo?" He asked.

Lana bit her lip and looked about ready to burst into tears. "Are you…ashamed that I'm blind?" She clarified. "Do you…regret having a blind daughter?"

The fire monster felt shock fill him at his daughter's questions and he knew for a fact none of the other monsters in the Underground had given Lana those doubts. They had come from the surface world. He let out a sigh and hugged his daughter. "Lana, I want you to know something," he said. "Are you listening?"

She nodded. "Yes, Dad," she said.

He smiled. "I'm not ashamed of your blindness nor am I ashamed of you," he said. "I'm proud of the young girl you've become. When you first came down here, you weren't certain about anyone and were blindly putting your trust in all of us. Even after I adopted you, you wouldn't really leave my side because you were unsure about everyone. But now, you know that no one will say anything bad about your blindness down here and you know they accept you without condition, just like I do."

She nodded. "And you've been really patient with me," she said. "You've never said one bad thing about me being unable to see."

"And I never will," Grillby promised her. "I love you, pumpkin. You're my little girl. Always will be, no matter how old you get."

Lana smiled, resting her head on her father's shoulder. "I'm glad I have you for a Dad," she said. "You didn't have to adopt me, but you did, because you cared."

He nodded and gently tweaked her nose with one finger, making her giggle. "Daddy," she protested without heat.

"Just showing you I love you, pumpkin," he said, kissing her forehead affectionately. "Now, how about you and I get those tables set for the dinner crowd?"

She smiled. "Race?" She asked.

Grillby nodded. "Whoever sets the most tables decides on dinner tonight," he said, making her grin and quickly get to work. To make it fair, he set a few tables slowly. Although they both did the work, he let her win each time because it not only made her happy, but it made him happy to see her happy. After a moment, he blinked out of his reverie and saw that Lana was nearly done setting the tables. He quickly finished the few tables he did and smiled. "I think you get faster every time, kiddo," he remarked.

Lana turned to grin at him. "Or maybe I'm cooking with fire?" She said teasingly.

Hearing his footsteps coming towards her and his chuckle, she squeaked and turned to run, but he caught her in a hug and began tickling her, making her laughter fill the restaurant and her laughter made him chuckle again.

* * *

 **Looks like the kids know that they can count on their adoptive parents to love them no matter what, huh? :)**

 **Next chapter: we meet the sixth child. :) And yes, that does mean that Frisk will be appearing soon. :) Who will adopt the sixth child? Stay tuned to find out. :)**

 **And please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	14. Unbroken Spirit

**Chapter 14: Unbroken Spirit**

Time continued to pass in the Underground with the kids not aging more than perhaps a couple of years and it had now been one hundred and ninety-five years since the Underground had become the monsters' home. But no one hardly paid attention to how much time had passed as the children kept their spirits up and made life more bearable for the monsters who they called family and all was at peace.

But one day, that peace was shattered when a commotion caught Gaster's attention, as he was taking a break from building the CORE, and he glanced up at the hole high over his head, being near the Ruins at the moment as he liked the quiet sometimes when taking a break. Something was happening as he could hear voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

All of a sudden, something was pushed down through the hole and the tall skeleton was shocked to see it was a wheelchair. A wheelchair that pitched forward and threw out the person in it to the flowerbed down below, leaving the person uninjured as the chair fell and broke into pieces beside her.

The person, a young girl, he noted when he saw her long light brown hair, looked at her chair and tears gathered in her eyes. Suddenly, a rock landed beside her, having been thrown from above as the same voices he had heard earlier, now sounded again.

"Hey, worthless! How does your stupid chair work now?" One voice taunted as more rocks came down, not hitting her, but coming close.

Gaster felt he just couldn't stand by as the girl tried rolling out of the way, but couldn't move away fast enough to get out of the bullies' line of sight. Hearing her cry out, he made a decision and raised his right hand, catching the rocks that were aimed at the girl by using his telekinesis, a purple glow coming over the rocks as they dropped to the ground away from the young girl.

It was quiet for a moment before Sans suddenly teleported in front of the girl and looked up towards the hole in the ceiling, seeing the bullies and his left eye glowed blue with his powers. "Someone's in for a bad time," he said in a deep, angry voice.

The young girl, who was a teenager named Hope, watched in terror as both skeletons used their powers to scare off the bullies and make them scamper away from the mountain. She quickly made a decision and tried to crawl away from them. While she didn't have a wheelchair, she could use her arms to pull herself along if she had too. She kept scooting backwards until seeing the skeletons turn their attention to her. Frightened even more now, she tried crawling faster.

Sans cocked a brow bone at her behavior, seeing her trying to get away by crawling. "That's not exactly the best way to get out of the way," he said to her casually. "Why aren't you running?"

Hope stopped to catch her breath and looked at the two who looked at her curiously. She waited a moment before answering. "I'm paraplegic," she responded. "I can't use my legs."

A human who couldn't walk? They had never heard of that, but Sans' left eye glowed a gentle blue as he reached out a hand, a purple heart coming into view. "Perseverance," Gaster said thoughtfully.

Sans nodded. "So that's what that means," he said, seeing why the girl couldn't run. "Thirteen years old. Paralyzed from the hips down."

Gaster moved closer. "What is your name, young one?" He asked, moving slow so that he didn't scare her.

"Hope," she replied as he very gently picked her up.

"That's a pretty name," the shorter skeleton replied as he used his telekinesis to levitate the broken wheelchair, the pieces glowing blue. "Come on, bro. Let's get her home."

The two skeletons headed for their house and Gaster placed Hope on the couch, arranging the couch pillows so that she could lean back on them. She didn't complain, but she was feeling nervous and unsure, especially after her ordeal with the bullies.

Noticing the young girl seemed unsure, Sans drew closer, deciding to help her feel better and his hands reached for her sides before he began tickling her. Feeling the tingling sensation from the wiggling fingers, Hope instantly began squirming and laughing as the short skeleton continued the tickle torture. "Well, you're quite a wiggle worm," he said teasingly, his hands now going from her sides to her ribs.

She squealed loudly when her ribs were tickled, which only amused her tickler more. "Sounds like you almost _jumped out of your skin_ that time," he teased her.

"So it would seem," Gaster said after he came back into the room. He moved closer and joined his younger brother in tickling the young girl, who laughed harder now.

"Please, stop," she pleaded with them through her laughter.

Hearing her plea and noticing she was running out of breath, the two stopped. "Easy," Sans said, gently squeezing her shoulder. "Take some deep breaths."

"Don't want you to end up with your sides hurting from not getting enough oxygen when we tickle you," Gaster remarked.

Hope looked away. "It wasn't that," she admitted, making them look at her. "I…I really don't know if I like being tickled."

Both looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" The joke-loving skeleton asked, having a bad feeling that maybe he and his brother had gone a bit too far in tickling the young girl.

She took a deep breath. "Well…it's hard to like it when I'm tickled, because…," she trailed off.

"Because?" The black-cloaked scientist prompted gently. "You can tell us, Hope. If we brought up a bad memory for you, that wasn't our intent."

She shook her head. "It's not that," she said. "But…when others tickled me, they would use my disability as an advantage to them and tickle me for a long time, knowing I couldn't get away from them, especially if there was a group of them tickling me. They wouldn't even stop when I asked them to."

Papyrus, who had come in a little while before to hear that, went up to Hope and gently touched her shoulder, making her look up at him. "That was wrong of them," he said. "Tickling is only fun when everyone, including the one getting tickled is having fun."

"Pap's right," Sans said, gently squeezing the teenager's hand reassuringly. "We'd never do that to you. We'll only tickle you in fun, but we'll stop when you've had enough. You just say the word and we'll instantly stop."

She was surprised at that, but was glad they understood and didn't take offense. "Until Alphys can fix your wheelchair, we'll carry you around the house," Gaster said. "I just called her and she's willing to see if she can fix it."

Hope looked surprised and worried again. "Oh, no. That would just make me a burden to you all," she protested.

She gasped when Sans lifted her with ease into his arms. "You're not a burden, kiddo," he said, tickling her side gently to convince her.

A giggle escaped her before she scrunched up her neck as Papyrus and Gaster gently tickled her neck and she playfully batted their hands away before grabbing Sans' wrist, making him stop tickling her. "Okay," she said. "I believe you. Just…Just let me know if…,"

Gaster placed a gentle hand over her mouth. "Finish that sentence, and all three of us will tickle you to pieces," he said with a smile so she knew he was serious, but was also joking a little. She nodded, giggling again.

It took Alphys a week to repair the wheelchair, but during that time, Hope lived with the skeletons, helping out when she could and not minding if they carried her around for a bit, although she did admit that it made her feel like a small kid, to which Gaster had pointed out that she was still a kid, their kid.

Well, that not only made her feel better, but also led to Gaster adopting her as his daughter, as she had told him she had been in an orphanage when she had been pushed into the Underground. Sans and Papyrus were beaming that they were now uncles and when Alphys brought the repaired wheelchair back, she and the skeletons fitted a lift to the stairs so that Hope could get up the stairs to the upper floor in her wheelchair. Their thoughtfulness and family love made her feel loved and lucky to have an understanding family.

In the nearly two hundred years the Underground had been there, the surface world hadn't changed a whole lot, but little did the monsters know that it was slowly becoming more tolerant, although it was taking some time. But all the monsters cared around were that the five children in their care were happy and the rest of the Underground was happy too.

* * *

 **Well, we are nearing the end of the story. Hard to believe, but true. And for those of you who have been wondering about Frisk, she will be in the next chapter. :)**

 **For now, please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	15. Frisk

**Chapter 15: Frisk**

A young girl climbed up the mountain and soon found the hole that led to the inside of the mountain. "This is where the bullies said they saw Hope last," she said to herself and then remembered what else the bullies had said. "They said the monsters killed Hope down here."

She peered in and scoffed. "How can they see anything when it's all mostly dark?" She asked herself and decided to call out for her friend. "Hope!"

Her voice echoed as she called and she listened closely before deciding to jump in and find the girl. She knew the stories of the mountain by heart and knew there was an exit somewhere on the other side of the mountain, although she didn't think there were monsters down here.

Unless there were.

Bravely, she jumped down and landed in the pile of flowers, which softened her landing and she looked around, but didn't see anything that would indicate anyone was down there until she spotted something to her right and saw it was a gold bracelet. "This is Hope's bracelet," she said and then looked up to see an enormous place in front of her. "Ruins?" She asked herself and then her eyes widened. "Maybe the bullies weren't kidding about monsters after all."

With that, the ten-year-old began running, looking for the path and following it, keeping her eyes opened for Hope and hoping to find her. It wasn't long before she made it to the snowy part of the Underground and paused a moment to rub her arms and marvel at the snow, finding it was real and she looked up. "How can there be snow when there's no opening for it to come down here?" She asked herself as she decided to keep going, knowing that if she stayed there in the cold too long, she would get sick.

She made it to the bridge and carefully crossed it before racing at break-neck speed down the path, squinting her eyes against the falling snow and therefore not seeing anyone in her path until she bumped literally into someone, falling back into the snow. "Whoa!" A voice sounded out and then a chuckle followed. "Where's the fire, kid?"

Frisk shook her head rapidly and looked up to see a skeleton looking back down at her. He smiled and chuckled again. "No need to knock me over in your mad rush. I can help you get to your destination quick," he said, holding out a hand to help her up.

His friendly voice was definitely something she hadn't been expecting, but then she accepted his hand and let him help her up before she stood up straight. "I know Hope's down here," she said to him. "Where is she?"

The girl's question surprised Sans, though to his credit, all he did was raise a brow bone to show his surprise. "Why do you want to know, kid?" He asked, his voice becoming serious as he wondered if she was one of the bullies that had bothered Hope when she first arrived.

The child's next words, however, squashed that theory quickly. "Hope was a foster kid under my grandparents' roof but her parents kidnapped her a few nights ago and some bullies came back from here saying that the monsters in the mountain had killed Hope and the two parents backed up those claims," she said.

Now it took a lot to make Sans angry, but hearing that was enough to spark his anger and his left eye glowed blue. "I'd never hurt my niece," he growled. "Those people who tried to hurt her are the real monsters."

His words made Frisk curious. "Your niece?" She asked.

He looked at her and raised his hand, making her flinch as a red heart floated towards him. "Determination," he said and then saw her stats were that of a pacifist and his gaze softened as he gently directed the heart back to her and his power dissipated. "What have you been told about this mountain?" He asked curiously.

"That there was a huge war two hundred years ago," Frisk replied. "And that the monsters needed seven souls to break the barrier that the humans had formed to keep them trapped in the mountain. There were also stories of six other children who went up to the mountain and never returned. They're believed to be dead."

Sans shook his head. "They're alive. Well, except for Rose," he said and his voice saddened. "She passed away years ago."

Something about his mournful tone made the ten-year-old pause. "Passed away?" She asked.

He nodded. "She had lung cancer, the poor girl," he said. "Her folks gave up on her and sent her up the mountain and she fell into the Underground. Queen Toriel and King Asgore took her in as their daughter after they had lost their son and daughter to the humans years prior."

Frisk felt saddened. "She died from her lung cancer?" She asked.

The skeleton nodded sadly. "She lived five years down here before she died," he said, a few tears escaping his eye sockets.

"What about…the others?"

Sans smiled a little. "Follow me," he said.

Frisk normally wouldn't have followed a stranger, but seeing the skeleton was nice and was showing that he had feelings like her, she decided he couldn't be that bad and so followed him into Snowdin, soon spying a young boy giggling and running from a fish monster, who was grinning as she chased him. "Get back here, you little scamp!" She called out to him, soon catching him and making him laugh. "Now, where's my helmet?"

"I told you, Mom. Auntie Alphys has it," the boy said.

"Why would she have my helmet?"

"Because I asked her if she could create you a new one for your birthday," the boy answered. "I wanted to give you a new helmet as a present."

The fish woman smiled. "Aww, Caleb, that's so sweet of you, son," she said, hugging the boy.

Sans smiled. "That's Caleb," he said. "He fell down a long time ago and Undyne adopted him as her son."

"How long ago did he fall down here?" Frisk asked.

"Years," the skeleton said. "Due to the magic of the Underground, the kids all haven't aged more than a few years."

Another girl came out beside a fire monster. "What does it look like, Dad?" The girl asked.

"It's pure white, like the dishtowels we use to dry the dishes," the fire monster said.

The girl felt the snow and smiled. "And it's soft," she said.

Sans chuckled. "That's Lana, the third child to fall down here," he said to Frisk. "She's blind, but she doesn't let that get her down."

"I heard that, Sans," Lana called out, even though they were quite a distance away.

"Wow, she's got good hearing," Frisk said.

"She certainly does," the skeleton said before seeing two other children come out with two other monsters. "Ah, and there's the King and Queen, Asgore and Toriel. And those two are their adopted children, Justin and Ingrid. The second and fifth children respectively to fall down here. Caleb was the fourth one."

"And Rose?" The young girl asked.

"She was the first one," the joke-loving monster said. "That's why her death was hard on all of us."

Frisk did some quick calculations and realized something. "Hope was the sixth child, right?" She asked.

"Yes?" Sans asked, looking at her curiously.

"And…I'm number seven, right?"

"What are you getting at, kiddo?"

The ten-year-old looked at him. "You have all the souls you need to break the barrier," she pointed out, backing up a little and looking scared.

The skeleton saw why she was scared. "Whoa, kiddo. You don't think we'd hurt the kids that we've taken in and have raised as our own, do you?" He asked, looking hurt.

She glanced around and could plainly see how happy the children were and how the monsters did seem to love them just like parents should. "But…I don't understand," she said.

"Well, I don't blame you, since you've only heard bad things about monsters," Sans said. "But back when Chara and Asriel, the King and Queen's first daughter and son, passed away, Asgore decreed that we monsters wouldn't be like the humans and we wouldn't kill anyone and if any human children fell down here, we'd accept them and take them in."

The young girl looked around and nodded before looking curious. "But where's Hope?" She asked and then looked alarmed. "She didn't die, did she?"

"No," he said. "She's alive. My older bro adopted her."

He then gestured with his head and led Frisk to a house and ushered her inside and the young girl instantly saw Hope on the couch. "Hope!" She cried out, running up to her.

The paraplegic girl jumped a little, but then let out a surprised, happy cry when she saw the child. "Frisk!" She said, catching the young girl in her arms and hugging her. "What are you doing here?"

"I knew something was wrong when those bullies returned and said the monsters had killed you and I decided to see for myself, but had to wait until I was older because Grandma was worried about me walking by myself when I was littler," Frisk explained. "But…are you okay? They haven't hurt you, have they?"

Hope shook her head. "No," she said. "Gaster, Sans, and Papyrus took me in and helped me after the bullies broke my wheelchair. Aunt Alphys fixed my chair and Gaster adopted me as his daughter."

The ten-year-old smiled. "And you're happy, just like the others," she said.

"Yes," Hope said and then looked sad. "But…they've taken us in and have sacrificed their freedom to give us good homes and raise us."

"Because you and the other kids are worth more than our freedom, Hope," Sans said, going up to her and gently squeezing her shoulder. "I know for sure none of us would trade you all for anything, not even our freedom."

Hearing that, Frisk stood up. "Then, I'll find a way to free all of you," she said. "Every single monster here in the Underground."

Gaster and Papyrus, who had come in just in time to hear that, were stunned. "What do you mean, child?" Gaster asked.

She smiled. "Grandpa taught me that there's oftentimes more than one way to solve a problem," she said. "There has to be more than one way to break the barrier, right?"

"She does have a point," Sans said. "And she's got determination in her."

"Perhaps we should call everyone here so they can also hear what this human has to say," Papyrus suggested.

* * *

It wasn't too long before there was an assembly and Frisk greeted them all. "You all might look like monsters, but inside, you all have the same understanding hearts that myself and my grandparents look for in people," she said. "The world today is a bit more understanding, but I'm not going to lie, there are some hate groups, but the good people outnumber them."

Lana looked at her. "But where will our parents go when they are free from here?" She asked. "Those of us who came here wanted to escape our horrible lives back then."

"I'm sure my grandparents can find homes for all of you," Frisk said. "My grandpa's into real estate and he and my grandma have a huge house. And knowing my grandma, she'd insist you all stay there while grandpa finds you homes."

Everyone looked at each other before Toriel stepped forward. "Child, are you certain your grandparents will accept us?" She asked.

"Grandma and Grandpa taught me to never judge anyone by what they look like, but by their actions," the ten-year-old said. "And they don't judge anyone on how they look, no matter what."

Asgore went and stood by Frisk. "It has been many years since the horrible war," he said. "I believe it's time for these new humans to see us for who we are, not as monsters to be feared, but as monsters who are willing to work with these humans and live in harmony with them."

Everyone cheered at that idea and later on, Frisk was sitting with Hope on the couch at the Skeleton brothers house and she felt hands tickle her sides and she giggled as she felt Gaster tickle her and Hope was in the same boat as Sans tickled her and Papyrus made his famous spaghetti in celebration.

"All of the children that have fallen down here have given us hope and have made life less unbearable down here, because we were focused on raising them and not thinking about our imprisonment," Gaster said as he stopped tickling the young girl and lifted her up into his arms.

"Which is why you guys deserve to be free," Frisk said, hugging him. "I think I know how to break the barrier, but I'm going to need all the children's help."

"You've got it," Hope said after Sans had let her up from the tickle torture.

The three skeletons grinned, looking forward to the day the barrier would be gone and they and the humans could start making amends and working together like they did years and years ago before the horrible war. There would finally be peace between the monster race and the human race.

At least, that's what they all hoped for.

* * *

 **Will Frisk be able to break the barrier? What idea does she have? Stay tuned to find out in the epilogue. :)**

 **And please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


	16. The Best Happy Ending

**Chapter 16: The Best Happy Ending**

Frisk took a deep breath and looked at the other five children behind her. "I think I know a way to break the barrier," she said. "But you guys are a big part of it. You and the people who have adopted you."

"What do you mean, little one?" Grillby asked, holding his daughter Lana close.

"You guys aren't monsters," she said. "Not evil ones. You love the ones you've adopted. Even I can see that."

"You are a wise child and one that judges with her heart instead of her mind," Gaster said, carrying Hope in his arms and she was holding onto him.

"But…how are we a part of your idea to break the barrier, child?" Toriel asked gently.

"Grandma and Grandpa taught me that love can overcome anything," Frisk said. "Evil can try and take over, but if there's love, it can't win. Love is the strongest thing of all."

She then turned to face the barrier. "If only humans can break the barrier, they can't do it alone," she said. "We can't do it alone."

"I think I get what she's saying," said Lana. "The six of us can perhaps break the barrier, but…we need love and support from our families."

Frisk nodded. "The same love they've shown you is what we need to break the barrier and free everyone," she said confidently.

"But we have no one to represent bravery," Justin said. "Rose…died."

"Yes, but it's not the traits that I think we need, despite us being told that ever since the war ended," the young girl said. "The traits are part of us, but only define part of us. Love defines us as a whole."

Caleb perked up. "My birth mom used to say that too," he said. "If we have love, it not only shapes who we are, but gives way for the other good traits."

Ingrid, unnoticed at the moment, went up to the barrier and reached up curiously. When she touched it, a brilliant indigo color flashed, catching everyone's attention and they saw she was gazing at the color in awe. Frisk smiled. "Ingrid just revealed my idea," she said. "All of us kids need to reach out and touch the barrier and let love break it and free everyone down here."

Justin went up to the barrier and touched it too, making it flash yellow before the yellow began mixing with the indigo color from Ingrid. Caleb took Lana's hand and let her up to the barrier and helped her touch it, making the color green flash now and mix with the other two colors before he touched it and a bright blue color joined the mix.

Hope looked up at Gaster and nodded and he carried her over to the barrier, to which she reached out and touched it, the color purple now flashing before the colors began swirling like a melody. Frisk now touched the barrier and a brilliant red flashed and joined the other six colors and the barrier shuddered, seeming ready to break, but stayed up. "They need the trait of bravery," Asgore said.

"But…none of us…have that trait," Alphys said sadly.

"I do," Papyrus said, his voice soft. "Granted, I have a monster soul, but…I'll do it for Rose. I'll stand in her place."

Toriel got tears in her eyes before she lifted her head and went up to her daughter, placing a gentle hand on Ingrid's head. Asgore followed his wife's lead and placed a hand on Justin's shoulder. Seeing what the King and Queen were doing, Undyne followed their example, placing her hands on Caleb's shoulders. Gaster held Hope in a protective embrace and Lana felt the familiar warmth of her adoptive father's hands on her shoulders and she took a deep breath.

Frisk felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Papyrus, who smiled at her. "Rose would have loved you, Frisk," he said. "Wherever she is, I think she's smiling at you."

The child smiled and saw him place a gloved hand on the barrier, an orange glow now joining the other colors. "For Rose," he said softly.

" _Thank you, Uncle Papyrus,"_ said a familiar voice and they all glanced around.

"Rose?" Toriel asked, uncertain if she had heard the young girl's voice.

Papyrus felt a hand come over his own and he looked, but couldn't see anyone, but…the touch felt familiar. "Rose?" He asked softly.

" _I love you all."_

Those four words were heard by all of them and the barrier flashed all six colors before with one final shudder, the barrier glowed prettily and then suddenly turned to stardust, making them gasp in awe before a gentle flap of wings was heard and a soft wind gently blew the dust towards the opening in the mountain. "Rose," Asgore said, instantly knowing it had been the little girl who had first fallen after the deaths of Chara and Asriel.

" _I'm always with you,"_ her voice carried softly and sweetly. _"I love you. Everyone one of you."_

Lana gasped in shock. "It's…It's Rose's spirit," she said softly. "I…I can feel her presence. She's…She's smiling. She's happy."

After a moment, she blinked and her blind eyes held a sad look. "She…She's gone back to watch over us all," she said, her voice still soft. "She…She's glad you're all free."

Justin had tears in his eyes. "That's my big sister," he said softly.

The monsters all paused for a moment, tears in their eyes before they looked up and began to cautiously move forward. Nothing stopped them as they walked past where the barrier had been and were soon at the mouth of the cave and stepped out into the daytime. The sun was shining overhead and the breeze was gentle and warm. Frisk smiled. "We made it," she said to them all.

The children pulled in breaths of the fresh air, as did the monsters, who after so many years of banishment, were finally free. Frisk now led the way down the mountain where some of the humans saw them and stopped in shock before others came out, looking uncertain. Even the mayor came out and he looked unnerved. "The monsters," he said. "They've been there the whole time. Now…they've returned."

One woman gasped. "To…To take revenge," she said in horror.

"No," Frisk said strongly, gaining all their attention. "The monsters have raised the five human children behind me as their own. If they were evil monsters, they wouldn't have done that."

"They took us in when we needed homes," Justin said. "When we were abused and hurt, they opened their homes and hearts to us."

"They granted a dying mother her last wish," Lana said softly. "They accepted us for who we are and have helped us through our challenges."

"They've protected us," Hope now spoke up, clinging to her adoptive father.

"And we love them as our family," Caleb said. "They don't make us forget loved ones who have passed on and they make us feel secure and always keep their promises."

"Our lives before we fell down into Mt. Ebbot were not the best," Justin said. "Abuse at the orphanage."

"Trying to escape the abuse and the taunts because I'm blind," Lana said.

"My mom dying and me having no home," Caleb said softly. "I ran and found someone to help me through the hard time of my birth mother's death."

"Nearly badly hurt by bullies because I was in a wheelchair, something they destroyed," Hope said. "All these monsters…they're not monsters at all. They're people, people who have feelings and emotions just like humans."

The mayor walked up to them and got a closer look at the children, seeing they looked well fed and healthy before he had a thought. "But…there's one child missing," he said. "Didn't…seven children fall?"

"Yes," Toriel said, holding Ingrid. "The first one was Rose, a young child with lung cancer and her birth parents sent her up the mountain to die."

"My wife and I took her in and raised her, but sadly, her cancer was too far along in her for us to fully heal her," Asgore said, bowing his head. "She lived five years with us and we strove to make them happy years for her. She died many years ago, long before Justin fell into the mountain."

"Where is her resting place?" The Mayor asked gently.

"Her final resting place is by the home that belongs to the skeleton brothers," Toriel said, gesturing to Sans, Papyrus, and Gaster. "She specifically requested it."

Another lady came up. "What about the child named Chara?" She asked gently. "Is she…also buried there?"

"Yes, with our son, Asriel," said Asgore. "He brought her back to the surface to fulfill her final wish when he was killed…by the humans in the village."

A man, who was the pastor, came forward. "He was…granting her a final wish?" He asked.

"Yes," Toriel said, her eyes filling with tears.

The pastor bowed his head softly and nodded. "The ones who had done you wrong have passed on," he said. "Over time, we believed the stories to merely be stories and were worried that those that had fallen were dead.

"But now, seeing them in front of us and seeing you have taken care of them as your own, it's plain to see that you're not evil."

"He is correct," the Mayor said and turned to them. "Therefore, I welcome all of you to be citizens of our town and we shall make the Underground of Mount Ebbot part of our town."

That surprised them all and the mayor smiled. "And…I believe a memorial for not only young Rose, but also for the two little ones and the young mother who died in the Underground, should be erected in the center of our town," he continued.

"And we will help you to be accepted by the world," the pastor said.

Asgore stood straighter. "You are all very generous," he said. "We feared we would never see such traits again in humans after the terrible war."

The mayor nodded gently. "The past is where it should be," he said gently. "Let us focus on a better future…for all of us."

The townspeople kept their word and the monsters were integrated as free citizens in the town and the beautiful memorial for Rose, Chara, Asriel, and Ingrid's birth mother stood in the center of the town and many stopped to pay respects to their memories.

A happy ending had been achieved, thanks to Frisk, but she never took credit for freeing the monsters. She gave the other children the credit, admitting that all she had done was provide the way for both the monsters and the children who had fallen to be free and that was good enough for her.

The happiness of the monsters and the six children, five on Earth and one in Heaven, was reward enough.

* * *

 **And that concludes "Hope Among Monsters." Thank you to everyone who read, faved, reviewed, and followed this story. I couldn't have done it without you all. :)**

 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


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